South China braces for typhoon
- From: pluto <pluto@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2006 09:50:45 +0800
FROM CNN
South China braces for typhoon
Wednesday, August 2, 2006; Posted: 8:55 p.m. EDT (00:55 GMT)
SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- Tropical Storm Prapiroon strengthened into a full-blown
typhoon on Wednesday, with forecasters warning of possible severe destruction to
parts of southern China.
The storm had been steadily gathering strength while churning across the South
China Sea from the Philippines, where six deaths were blamed on the severe
weather and flooding.
With Prapiroon expected to make landfall between Thursday night and Friday,
65,000 people have been evacuated from parts of south China's Hainan Island and
neighboring Guangdong province, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Around 53,200 boats had returned into ports on the island, which lies about 600
kilometers (373 miles) southwest of Hong Kong. Rescue teams have been ordered to
be on alert for floods and landslides.
The storm is "as strong, if not stronger" than an earlier storm, Bilis, which
sparked floods and landslides that killed more than 600 people in southern China
last month, Gao Shuanzhu, a senior official at the China's national observatory
was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
By 8:00 p.m. (1200 GMT), Prapiroon was centered 340 kilometers (211 miles) south
of Hong Kong, which issued warnings to sailors amid scattered squalls. The Hong
Kong Observatory warned of winds in the area gusting at up to 62 kph (38 mph).
Prapiroon was packing winds of about 118 kilometers (73 miles) per hour at its
center while moving northwest toward Hainan's northern coast at roughly 14 kph
(10 mph), the observatory said.
By Thursday, the storm would build to gusts of 130 kph (81 mph), the observatory
said. It was due to blow hard through Friday, before continuing northwest into
the Chinese mainland and weakening again into a tropical storm.
Strong winds and heavy rains were forecast from Thursday to Saturday for Hainan,
China's southernmost island and a key tourist destination.
In Hong Kong, at least one person was reported injured when empty shipping
containers were toppled by high winds at a container terminal. Ferry service was
disrupted.
Philippine authorities said two other people were missing following lightning
storms and flooding caused by Prapiroon. About 15,000 others were evacuated as
parts of the northern Philippines remained inundated.
Prapiroon, named after the Thai rain god, is the region's eighth major storm of
the season. It comes in the wake of last week's Typhoon Kaemi, which killed at
least 35 people in China and left dozens missing in flooding and landslides.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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