Super Typhoon Nepartak attacked Taiwan with powerful winds and torrential rain as it made landfall Friday (July 8), killing two people, injuring 72 and forcing more than 15,000 to evacuate their homes while the island cancelled hundreds of flights and shut offices and schools.

Then the remains of Nepartak made landfall in China’s eastern Fujian province on Saturday (July 9) still with high winds and heavy rain, and forcing the relocation of an estimated number of more than 420,000 of people.

With growing speed to 234 kilometres per hour, Nepartak landed at Taimali in eastern Taitung county shortly before 6:00 am, Friday July 8.

It was recorded as the strongest gusts since 1901, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau.

One man drowned off a beach in Hualien county Thursday, according to an official tally.

TV footage showed a cargo train car was blown off the tracks in Taitung while fallen shop signs and toppled trees littered the streets.

More than 15,000 people have been moved from their homes which were prone to landslides or flooding and about 3,700 of them were in shelters.

Nearly 4,000 people evacuated were in New Taipei City, which includes Wulai, a popular hot spring area near the capital which was cut off for days after Typhoon Soudelor ravaged Taiwan last August.

As many as 331,900 households lost power due to the storm, with close to 255,000 without electricity as of Friday morning although in the afternoon The Associated Press reports that power has been partially restored. Thus far, the storm has killed two people and injured 72.

By late morning, Nepartak had weakened to a medium-strength typhoon, packing maximum sustained winds of 163 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 230 kph, Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau said

Saturday morning, Nepartak became a tropical storm, as expected, Taiwan’s high mountains have torn the storm apart making it no longer the fearsome highly organised typhoon it has been when it made landfall Friday morning.

However, a tropical storm is still serious, especially when it is headed to areas that are already flooded.

Huge rainstorms in China’s Yangtze river basin have left more than 120 people dead and more than 40 missing, with more than a million forced out of their homes by widespread flooding, state media reported (RFA July 7).

Nepartak made landfall on Saturday afternoon in east China’s Fujian Province, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the coastal city. The storm hit land in Fujian province just before 2 p.m., lashing Shishi city with winds of around 100 kph (62 mph), causing huge damage, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.

According to Xinhuam a red rainstorm alert was issued in Putian City, which experienced more than 250 millimeters of precipitation in four hours earlier that morning. Forty-three people in a residential area were rescued by firefighters after floodwaters submersed two buildings.

The downpour added to the already seriously flooded city, impeding traffic and causing damage to residential buildings.

Rescuers conducted operations around the city. For example, in Xiuyu district, firefighters rescued a woman who was trapped in the middle of a street by the rising flood.

Many buildings have collapsed and landslides were reported in rural and mountainous areas.

Transportation has been affected by the strong typhoon, as commercial ships have suspended services with planes and trains cancelled and fishing boats have also been recalled to port.

Beaches and entertainment facilities have also been closed for safety concerns.

An incomplete estimation showed more than 420,000 people in four cities, including the provincial capital of Fuzhou, have been urgently relocated, Xinhua says.

Typhoons used to kill many people in China but the government now has enforced evacuations and takes precautions as much as possible in advance, which has helped save many lives.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

Singapore Conversations – Asking the wrong questions, looking the wrong places?

By Dan Lim – Can any real change come out from the…

TOC Op-ed: New twist to the by-election question, but don’t hold your breath

Dr Balaji Sadasivan’s passing this morning inevitably raises the question of whether…

Leading Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong arrested: party

Leading Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong was arrested Friday, his party…

“前老板要我物色外籍人士履历!” 前人资主管揭职场聘雇秘辛

“我的前老板曾“强烈建议”我注意外籍人士的求职履历!” 我国聘雇外籍人士课题一直备受争议,PMET职场聘雇上存在歧视现象,更不是空穴来风。不久前人力部也承认,有47个雇主招揽雇员竟没有公平对待新加坡人,甚至多达30家金融、专业服务企业,聘请的外籍PMET(专业人士、经理、行政人员和技术人员),大部分来自同一国家! 然而,以上现象都还可能只是冰山一角。 近日,在社交媒体领英(Linkedin),培训和咨询公司ConnectOne的总监Joanne Yeoh,针对聘雇外籍人士的课题发文,指出近年来被要求招聘外籍人士而倍感困扰。 她表示,“这是相当悲哀的时代,我国公民在自己的国家面临聘雇歧视,如今需敦促聘请本地人才能确保职场多元化。” Joanne说,尽管欢迎不同外籍人士和外国投资进入新加坡,但聘雇歧视确实存在在我国已有一段时日。 她也举例,过去十年期间她作为公司的人力资源部主管,也曾遇过类似的聘雇歧视的经验。 “我有遇过一些老板,“强烈推荐”我先查阅外国人的履历,即使我当时面试的本地人都符合职缺条件。” 倡议打造以新加坡人为核心团队 “当我坚持要在公司内建立以新加坡人为核心的PMET团队,我也曾被刻上不服从的标签;我也曾参加过某次接班人规划的评议,外籍董事当场表示,“若没有亚洲人能够领导,而且将会成为一场大灾难”(P/S:我当机立断,也放弃大笔花红就辞职。)”” 不仅如此,她也曾参与由印度籍员工的商务会议,全程以印度语交流,而她忆述,她却是全场唯一的新加坡人。…