Damage in China from Typhoon Bilis
B E I J I N G, Aug. 24 -- Typhoon Bilis uprooted trees and signboards,triggered a landslide that destroyed a railway and wrecked morethan 1,000 homes in coastal China, officials said today.
Bilis arrived in China after killing 11 people in Taiwan.Although it weakened after making landfall Wednesday in southeastChina’s Fujian province, the storm still unleashed destructivewinds and rains but caused no casualties, Fujian authorities said.
Economic Losses Totaling Millions
In Jinjiang city, where Bilis came ashore, more than 300farmers’ houses and a 330-foot-long sea wall collapsed, said a cityofficial who gave only his surname, Zhang.
More than 80 fishing boats were damaged, 200 factories forced toclose and 5,767 acres of farmland flooded, Zhang said. He saideconomic losses totaled $12 million.
In Fujian’s provincial capital, Fuzhou, most losses were causedby strong wind. The storm wrecked 845 houses, uprooted more than4,500 trees and cut electricity to some parts of the city, said acity flood official surnamed Huang. Huang said economic losses inthe area totaled $60 million.
Gusts of wind smashed windows and advertising boards in Fuzhouand rain brought the city’s transport system to a halt, the ChinaDaily said. A landslide in northern Fujian destroyed sections ofrailway, the newspaper said.
A tornado also struck four villages near Yueqing city inneighboring Zhejiang province, destroying more than 20 buildings,damaging more than 130 others and leaving 11 people with slightinjuries, the Beijing Youth Daily said.
Time to Prepare
Chinese authorities had had time to prepare. The Fujian port ofXiamen gave city workers Wednesday off as Bilis moved in and Xiamenferry services and a local airline shut down operations.
Boats were ordered into port along Fujian’s coast, and airportsin Jinjiang, Fuzhou and Xiamen, as well as all Fujian expressways,were closed until late Wednesday afternoon.
Bilis barreled into Fujian having caused major destruction inTaiwan, with seven people missing and more than 100 injured afterthe storm hit the island late Tuesday with winds of up to 118 mph.
