Strongest typhoon of the year claims first lives
BEIJING -- A powerful typhoon swept into southeastern China on Thursday after hitting Taiwan, leaving a total of two dead and dozens injured.
Weather officials in both China and Taiwan said Meranti was the strongest storm of its kind this year. Chinese state media reported one death and one person missing, as high winds and rain shattered windows on tall buildings, knocked down trees and disrupted water supplies in China’s Fujian province, causing a widespread blackout in the coastal city of Xiamen.
In Taiwan, the Central News Agency reported one person was killed and 44 were injured on the island by the storm. It said Meranti knocked out power in almost 1 million homes and water in more than 700,000.
More than 140 trains heading into southeastern China were canceled. An 800-year-old bridge in Fujian province was one casualty of the storm; state media released video of a rapidly flowing river pushing against the bridge until it fell in.
Another video posted online shows a large, moon-shaped balloon bouncing between cars on a roadway. The balloon was an apparent decoration for Thursday’s start of the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival in both mainland China and Taiwan.
Chinese meteorologists downgraded Meranti from a super typhoon to a tropical depression Thursday afternoon and said they expect it to fade further as it moves north.