Typhoon Meranti closes in on China in this infra-red image released by NASA.
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Typhoon Meranti, which made landfall in Xiamen at about 3 a.m. on Thursday, caused about $250 million in damages – destroying 1,600 homes and damaging almost 55,000 acres of crops.
TV footage shows fallen trees, flooded streets, shattered windows and crushed cars too while the rescue operations.
Earlier this week, super typhoon Meranti has claimed the lives of at least 10 people in China, Beijing authorities said on Friday, while one person has been reported killed and 38 injured in Taiwan. While there were no reports of casualties, it is unknown whether the balloon has been caught or if it is still on the loose.
The system was the strongest to form anywhere on earth this year, and the most powerful to sweep the Pacific since super typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines in 2013.
More than 32,000 boats returned to harbor, and over 300,000 people in Fujian were evacuated.
The typhoon, which has just slammed into Taiwan yesterday, is expected to make landfall in Southern China late Thursday, Xinhua reports that residents have been told to stay indoors while ships have been ordered to head back to harbour. Typhoon Malakas is said to intensify from category 2 to category 3 by Thursday.
Weather forecasters said Meranti would continue to lose strength as it pushed inland and up towards China’s commercial capital of Shanghai, but would bring heavy rain.
The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System warned the super typhoon could have a “high humanitarian impact” in Taiwan given the vulnerability of the populations in the areas affected.
“This typhoon is the world’s strongest so far this year”, weather bureau spokeswoman Hsieh Pei-yun said. “Its impact on Taiwan will peak all day today”.
A man walks past downed shipping containers at the Kaohsiung Harbour in Taiwan.
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Trains and shipping services were disrupted, while offices and schools in Kaohsiung and other cities were closed and nearly 1,500 people were evacuated, the centre said. Also on Wednesday, more than 230 flights on the island were canceled, and 168 flights were rescheduled to or from Taiwan. The storm caused a lot of damage and flooding in Taiwan but only five people were injured.
