China canceled dozens of flights and trains in preparation for Typhoon Doksuri, which has shuttered much of southern and eastern Taiwan after bringing torrential rain and strong winds to the Philippines.
(Bloomberg) — China canceled dozens of flights and trains in preparation for Typhoon Doksuri, which has shuttered much of southern and eastern Taiwan after bringing torrential rain and strong winds to the Philippines.
At least three people have been killed by the massive storm, which is heading to China after causing chest-deep floods in the Philippines’ northern Cagayan province. The typhoon, with sustained winds up to 155 kilometers (96 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 191 kph, was about 200 kilometers southwest of Taiwan’s southernmost point as of 11:30 a.m. local time.
Almost 50,000 households in Taiwan experienced power disruptions, and 3,723 homes were without power as of 10 a.m., while schools and offices in many key cities, including Kaohsiung and Tainan, remain closed. The capital Taipei remains open. Some 234 domestic flights plus 83 international and cross-strait flights were canceled, according to the civil air authority.
The typhoon caused at least two fatalities in the Philippines, with a woman hit by a falling tree and a 16-year-old boy crushed in a landslide, AFP reported on Wednesday, citing local officials. The disaster risk reduction agency said it’s verifying reports that five people died.
In Taiwan, Doksuri caused one death, the Central News Agency reported, citing the local disaster response center.
China is now girding for the storm and has raised the highest alert of its four-tier color-coded system for severe weather. The typhoon is expected to make landfall in Fujian and Guangdong coastal areas on Friday morning, according to China’s National Meteorological Center.
China Eastern Airlines Corp. said on its website that inbound and outbound flights in several southeastern cities will be canceled during from today to Saturday to ensure passenger safety. The local airport in Fuzhou city of Fujian province has canceled more than 50 flights today, according to state broadcaster CCTV. In the meantime, dozens of train services in Yangtze River Delta area have been suspended, according to Shanghai bureau of China Railway.
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. said Xiamen airport will shut for 24 hours from 6 p.m. tonight, while Fujian’s Zhangzhou city is also suspending work and classes for two days from Thursday noon, CCTV reported.
Hong Kong, which is calling the storm a “severe typhoon”, is maintaining its standby No. 1 signal until tonight. The city is seeing occasionally strong winds on high ground.
The Philippines said the massive storm has now exited its territory.
Its northern province of Cagayan’s experience with storms and flooding, and the evacuation of nearly 16,000 people, appears to have limited human casualties. Still, more than 180,000 people were affected by the storm in the Philippines, with electricity cut to dozens of towns. Much of the northern city of Baguio remained without power on Thursday morning.
Similarly, Taiwan has extensive experience with typhoons, though it has been spared direct hits in recent years, and companies and the government took extensive steps ahead of the storm to minimize damage.
–With assistance from Danny Lee, Olivia Tam, Adrian Kennedy, Ditas Lopez and Ocean Hou.
(Rewrites headline, throughout with latest details of storm, location.)
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