Typhoon Fung Wong heads to Taiwan, as south China reels under heat wave by Tomasz Schafernaker
Taiwanese authorities have begun to prepare themselves for Typhoon Fung Wong, on course to hit the island over the next 24 hours. On Sunday the typhoon was located southeast of Taiwan, packing maximum winds of 130mph (210kph). Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre are keeping a close eye on the typhoon, which is expected to strengthen from a category one to a category three storm by Monday.
Fung Wong, which means Phoenix in Chinese, is the eighth tropical storm of the season, and could potentially become the second typhoon to hit Taiwan in two weeks. Little over a week ago typhoon Kalmaegi hit the island, causing extensive flooding and landslides.
Across the South China Sea on Sunday, an orange warning heat wave signal was issued for many provinces in south China. Nine counties in the region were hit by temperatures exceeding 38C (100F), with a record 37.7C being recorded in the provincial capital of Guangzhou. Under the influence of the approaching typhoon it expected to remain warm and dry across much of southern China.
