Typhoon Gaemi live: 25 killed, thousands evacuated in Taiwan and Philippines as storm hits China

Typhoon Gaemi weakened to a “severe tropical storm” in southeastern China, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Radar imagery shows the latest track and intensity.

Chinese authorities have warned of rising rivers, flash floods and inundation in cities and provinces that were hit by heavy rains in the past few weeks.

Typhoon Gaemi, the third most powerful typhoon to hit China’s east coast this year, has made landfall in Fujian Province.

The typhoon struck Taiwan before making landfall in China, causing landslides and flooding in low-lying areas and killing three people.

More than 240,000 people were forced to evacuate China’s coastal province of Fujian as the hurricane approached, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

The storm is expected to batter the coast and then bring heavy rain to inland areas, including the capital Beijing, over the next three days.

In Taiwan, a landslide on Thursday afternoon killed a 78-year-old man at his home and two others were killed before the storm made landfall late Wednesday night, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency.

An additional 380 people were reported injured.

A third death on Wednesday, involving the driver of an overturned excavator, was initially blamed on the typhoon but later determined to be unrelated, the agency said.

The Ministry of Water Resources warned that Typhoon Gaemi was expected to bring heavy to very heavy rains across a wide area of ​​China from Thursday.

The rains are expected to continue for a week due to the large amount of moisture brought by the typhoon, he added.

China’s National Meteorological Center issued the highest level of red alert, according to Xinhua.

The typhoon is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to parts of southeastern China that have already been drenched for days, triggering emergency responses and cancelling flights and trains in Fujian province.

Chinese weather forecasters said Typhoon Gaemi would pass through Fujian province late on Thursday and then head inland, weakening before gradually moving north.

However, forecasters expect heavy rainfall in many areas as the typhoon moves northward.

Government authorities have already issued warnings and alerts in the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang in preparation for heavy rains and flooding.

In Fujian province, government authorities have relocated about 150,000 people, mainly from coastal fishing villages, according to state media.

Authorities in Zhoushan city, Zhejiang province, suspended passenger waterway shipping for up to three days as strong winds intensified.

Most flights were cancelled at airports in Fuzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian province and Wenzhou in Zhejiang province, according to the Variflight app.

Guangzhou railway authorities suspended some train services passing through typhoon-hit areas, according to China Central Television (CCTV).

Meanwhile, summer storms are dumping heavy rains in northern China around a different weather system.

Authorities in the capital Beijing raised the alert level to a red alert late on Wednesday night, predicting heavy rainfall through much of Thursday, according to state media.

Heavy rain has already fallen in some areas, triggering emergency plans and evacuating more than 25,000 people, the Beijing Daily reported.

Some train services were also suspended at Beijing West Station, state media said.

The Beijing Fangshan District Meteorological Observatory expected many parts of the city to see more than 150mm (6 inches) of rainfall within six hours by 10am (2am GMT), while other areas would see more than 200mm (8 inches) within 24 hours, state television reported.

Typhoon Gaemi has crossed the Taiwan Strait and is currently approaching Fujian Province on the Chinese coast.

Gaemi has become the strongest typhoon to hit China’s east coast this year, sending swirling cloud bands across much of the western Pacific Ocean and bringing severe weather from the Philippines to Japan’s Okinawa islands.

Coast Guard spokesman Rear Adm. Armando Barilo warned there was a “great risk” that Manila’s coastline would be affected by an oil spill.

“Because this happened within Manila Bay, there is a great risk of damage to Manila and its coastline if there is a fuel leak. This is part of the contingency we are preparing for,” Barilo said.

“The impact on the marine environment would not be good.”

Barilo compared the scale of the latest spill to the sinking of another Philippine oil tanker carrying a much smaller amount of fuel oil off the coast of Oriental Mindoro province, north of Manila, in February last year.

The spill, which took about three months to contain, caused extensive damage to coral reefs and mangroves in an area known for its rich biodiversity, affecting tens of thousands of fishermen and beach resorts in at least six states.

Manila’s coastline is a major tourist and business center and is home to a major seaport, historic public parks, the U.S. Embassy, ​​and luxury hotels and restaurants.

Reclamation work is also underway in the bay to make space for an entertainment and tourism complex that will include a casino. The bay has long been notorious for pollution, but is known for its picturesque sunsets.

Aerial surveys have determined that the oil spill off Manila Bay is about 3.7 kilometers (2.3 miles) long.

The Philippine Coast Guard was still investigating whether the ship was still leaking oil – potentially a larger spill – after rescuing 16 of the 17 crew members in a nighttime operation, officials said.

The tanker Terra Nova was carrying more than 1.4 million liters (370,000 gallons) of industrial fuel oil in watertight tanks from Bataan province and was en route to the central province of Iloilo when it was hit by a huge wave and taken over.

Coast Guard spokesman Rear Adm. Armando Barilo, citing surviving crew members, said the crew struggled to return the tanker to port but it eventually sank shortly after midnight.