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| msnbc.msn.com |
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Tropical storm Namadol headed for China yesterday, losing strength after drenching southern and eastern Taiwan, forcing evacuations, shutting businesses and disrupting transport, but causing no major damage or casualties. The storm, downgraded from a typhoon yesterday, was the first of the season to land in Taiwan. By late yesterday, its center had passed over Taiwan and was heading for southern China. Taiwan's central weather bureau maintained a heavy rain and strong wind warning for the island, forecasting rainfall in excess of 350 mm in a 24-hour period in the northeast, east and southeast. Mindful of the fierce criticism of its handling of deadly typhoon Morakot in 2009, and with presidential elections looming, the government had put some 35,000 soldiers on standby and evacuated some 8,000 residents, mostly in the island's rural, mountainous southeast, ahead of the storm. In China, Vice Premier HuiLiangyu ordered local governments to take steps to limit damage from the storm, which is expected to hit Fujian province sometime today, the China Meteorological Administration said. Businesses in Taiwan's south and east were ordered closed yesterday, but those in the capital, Taipei, and Taiwan's financial markets were open as normal. Major hi-tech companies TSMC, AU Optronics and Chimei Said they were unaffected. Schools were closed across the island and rail services and domestic and international flights disrupted. Some 31,400 households in the south and east had lost power, the Taiwanese National Fire Agency said. In the worst affected area, the southernmost county of Pingtung, TV stations showed pictures of emergency teams carrying residents from homes waist deep in water. One TV station also reported minor-injuries to a passing motorcyclist after strong winds blew out a glass office window in the northern city of Taoyuan.
By REUTER
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