Typhoon weakens in China after killing six in Taiwan
BEIJING (AFP) - A weakened Typhoon Soudelor made landfall in China and was set to be downgraded Sunday after killing six people and injuring hundreds in Taiwan, where millions were left without power.
Heavy rain lashed China's southeast Fujian province, occasionally flooding roads with as much as two metres (six feet) of water, the official Xinhua news agency reported. But unlike Taiwan, no casualties or major damage was reported in mainland China.
The National Meteorological Center predicted Soudelor -- named after a legendary Micronesian chief -- would be downgraded to a tropical depression by Sunday night as it moved further inland.
At least 250,000 people were evacuated from the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang ahead of the typhoon's arrival. The storm cut power to some parts of the eastern coast and damaged crops, state media reported.
The typhoon ripped up trees and triggered landslides in Taiwan. Toppled trees and signboards damaged electricity lines, knocking out power to a record four million households.
Almost half a million homes were still without power Sunday, Taiwan Power Co. said, as blocked roads hampered efforts to restore supplies in some areas.
Taiwan's death toll rose to six after an eight-year-old girl who went missing Thursday after being swept out to sea with her mother and twin sister was found dead.
Her mother and sister, caught in the strong waves on the east coast, were the first victims of the typhoon.
Some 379 people were injured in the storm, which saw rivers break their banks under torrential rain and towering waves pound the island's coastline.
Taiwan lifted its typhoon warning Sunday but the weather bureau warned of further heavy rains in the south.
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