Typhoon Chan-Hom lands in China, wreaks havoc

Typhoon Chan-Hom made landfall on Saturday afternoon in east China bringing with it severe winds and heavy rain to Zhejiang and neighbouring provinces, Xinhua news agency reported.

Chan-Hom, the ninth typhoon this year, landed at 4.40 p.m. in Zhujiajian township of Putuo district in the island city of Zhoushan packing strong winds, according to the provincial meteorological station.

Zhejiang was battered by gales and torrential rain, forcing hundreds of flights to be cancelled and highways to be closed, local authorities said on Saturday.

So far, no casualties have been reported. A number of villages were flooded and power and road access has been cut off.

Power supply to more than 200,000 household in 139 villages in the coastal city of Ningbo have been cut off since Friday night. The local power grid has sent more than 2,000 workers to repair the lines.

As of Saturday morning, nine counties had recorded more than 100 mm of rain since Friday. Lai'ao village in Sanmen county reported a record 404 mm of rainfall, according to the provincial flood control and drought prevention headquarters.

As of 3 p.m. Saturday, some 1.07 million people in the province had been evacuated. The water level of 37 large and medium-sized reservoirs had exceeded the danger level.

Over 600 flights were cancelled on Saturday in the cities of Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou and Taizhou. More than 7,300 coaches and all passenger ships have suspended services.

Several high-speed trains starting from or arriving in the cities of Hangzhou and Ningbo were also cancelled on Saturday.

In neighbouring Jiangsu province, more than 46,000 people have been evacuated and 21,691 ships recalled to port. Many flights were cancelled out of Nantong and Nanjing.