Super Typhoon Wipha slams into China
Pastor Dale Morgan
Super Typhoon Wipha slams into China*
* Story Highlights
* NEW: Shanghai closes schools, delays or postpones dozens of flights
* NEW: Storm's eye makes landfall near Cangnan in southern Zhejiang
province
* State television shows streets flooded knee-deep in several
regional cities
SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- Super Typhoon Wipha slammed into the coast south
of Shanghai early Wednesday as authorities moved 2 million people
following forecasts it would be the most powerful storm to hit eastern
China in a decade.
Waves smash against the northern coast near Keelung, Taiwan, on Tuesday
as Typhoon Wipha approaches.
Shanghai closed schools, delayed or postponed dozens of flights and
ferry crossings and other transport links amid warnings of torrential
rains and strong winds.
The storm's eye made landfall near Cangnan in southern Zhejiang
province, some 386 kilometers (240 miles) south of Shanghai, and was
losing force as it moved north along the coast, state media reported.
State television showed streets flooded knee-deep in several regional
cities.
Authorities in Shanghai, Zhejiang and Fujian province ordered 2 million
people evacuated from ships and coastal regions and from housing judged
to be unsafe.
The storm, with winds gusting to 233 km/h (145 mph), was losing force as
it moved north along the coast and was expected to pass over Shanghai
later Wednesday, local weather reports said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage caused by the
storm on mainland China.
On Tuesday, one worker was reported killed and another seriously injured
as the fringe of the typhoon lashed Taiwan, knocking down scaffolding at
a highway construction site in Taipei, Taiwan's Disaster Relief Center
reported.
Organizers of the women's World Cup rescheduled Wednesday's Shanghai
match between Norway and Ghana to Thursday and moved it to the
neighboring city of Hangzhou.
A Wednesday game in Hangzhou between Brazil and Denmark was moved to
Thursday.
Shanghai and the coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian to the south
issued typhoon warnings requiring all vessels to return to shore or
change course to avoid the storm. Numerous flights out of Shanghai and
other regional airports were canceled.
Wipha, a woman's name in Thai, was upgraded from a tropical storm
Monday. With wind gusts of up to 265 km/h, local meteorological
officials said it would be the most destructive storm to hit the
Shanghai area in years if it followed a course northward that would take
it just west of the city.
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The deadliest storm to hit the China coast in recent years was Typhoon
Winnie in 1997, which killed 236 people.
The deadliest storm to hit the China coast in recent years was Typhoon
Winnie in 1997, which killed 236 people. Typhoon Rananim, with winds of
more than 161 km/h, was the strongest typhoon to hit the Chinese
mainland since 1956, killing nearly 200 people.