The east coast of China sustained the ravages of Typhoon Fitow, having been warned of the impending storm Sunday by the National Meteorological Centre in a red alert (the highest level). The typhoon is expected to weaken quickly as it makes its way northwest. Above is some raw footage of the typhoon.
Thousands of citizens were evacuated, according to Xinhua news agency. Zhejiang province evacuated 574,000 and Fujian province evacuated 177,000. Fitow hits a mere two weeks after the region suffered Typhoon Usagi, which left at least 25 dead in southern China.
The storm bore down on coastal towns with 94 mph winds and pummeling rains, hitting Fujian province early Monday and causing mass blackouts. Flood control authorities reported that some houses had collapsed due to the winds in Cangnan County, Zhejiang province. Authorities have been advised to check the safety of dams, reservoirs and chemical plants should the storm have compromised their integrity.
A few injuries and missing persons have been reported. In Cangnan County, a boy was injured by flying glass. In the Zhejiang city of Wenzhou, two port workers are considered missing and may have been swept into the sea. Fishermen were urged to return to port as harbor facilities and sea walls were prepared for high tides before Fitow made landfall.
Xinhua reports Fitow as the 23rd storm to abuse China in 2013. It traveled through the southern Okinawan island chain of Japan and past the north of Taiwan. There was little concern that the storm would make landfall in Japan or Taiwan though wild weather and power outages did affect some areas.
Transportation was affected, flights and ferries cancelled as the storm traveled past Taiwan and on to China, and bullet train services in Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi province cities.
[Image via YouTube.]