Saturday, April 19, 2008

China evacueerd 120.000 mensen uit kustplaatsen...

Typhoon Neoguri hits China

More than 120,000 people have been evacuated from China’s southern island province of Hainan as typhoon Neoguri made landfall yesterday evening.

Neoguri, which means “raccoon” in Korean, reached a category two storm as it moved over the South China Sea. Torrential rain with winds up to 85mph (137km/h) lashed the island giving rise to flooding of low-lying areas. Hundreds of people were left stranded on the island as the storm saw the cancellation of dozens of flights.

Typhoon Neoguri weakened to a tropical storm after hitting Hainan island and is now affecting the southern Guangdong province of mainland China. Neoguri is moving northeast at around 10mph (16km) and is dissipating all the while. Residents have been warned to expect heavy rain and winds up to 60mph (97km/h) through much of this afternoon with a risk of localised flooding.

As the remnants of the storm tracks further inland over the next few days, southern parts of China can expect the threat of heavy rain and thunderstorms