Typhoon Sepat spurns a tornado in China by Jo Farrow
At least 12 people have been killed in eastern China by a tornado which struck several coastal provinces. Over 150 homes across the Zhejiang province were toppled by the tornado which created an 800m wide corridor of destruction. The tornado is believed to have formed under the influence of typhoon Sepat which hit south China early Sunday morning.
Sepat landed in the Fujian province and brought heavy rain and winds of 120km/h (75mp/h) to the region. Rainfall from 8am Saturday to 8am Sunday reached more than 200mm (7.8 inches) in many eastern provinces. As a result the region endured widespread flooding, with the rain triggering a mudslide which left two people dead.
Prior to the typhoon’s arrival more than 900,000 people across three eastern provinces were evacuated and advised to seek shelter in preparation for the storm. Sepat has since weakened into a tropical storm with forecasters at the Chinese Meteorological department expecting it to arrive at the Jiangxi province later on Sunday.
