Weather - Margins of Typhoon "Gaemi": Twelve fatalities in Central China
Outer reaches of Typhoon "Gaemi" triggered a landslide in Central China, causing at least twelve lives lost. According to Chinese State Television, a one-story house in the village Yuelin, Hunan Province, was carried away by a landslide caused by heavy rainfall on Saturday morning. Six more people were injured.
The destroyed building is reportedly a guesthouse that rented to tourists. Rescue operations are ongoing, with a total of 240 rescue personnel dispatched to the area. Additionally, on Saturday in the eastern Chinese metropolis of Shanghai, a delivery man was killed by a falling tree, according to "The Paper" newspaper.
Over 300,000 people evacuated
Two people are reported missing in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin. 27,000 residents had to evacuate in the northeast due to heavy rainfall, hundreds of factories have temporarily halted production according to State Television reports.
In southern Fujian, nearly 300,000 residents were evacuated to safety, while in neighboring Guangdong, some train connections were disrupted by the storm. No deaths have been reported in the region yet.
Chaos and devastation
Typhoon "Gaemi" has caused chaos and devastation in the region in the past few days. On Taiwan, over 800,000 households were disconnected from the power grid at one point. At least ten people died in the flooding.
The strongest damages were caused by "Gaemi" in the Philippines. The death toll, according to media reports, has risen to 34. In Manila Bay, an oil tanker with 1.4 million liters of industrial diesel oil sank during the storm, with some of the oil spilling out according to Philippine Coast Guard reports.
Already on Saturday, "Gaemi" was downgraded to a tropical storm due to decreasing wind speeds, but there is still an elevated flood risk in certain regions of China.
- Despite being downgraded, Typhoon "Gaemi" continues to pose a significant flood risk in certain regions of central China, similar to what Shanghai experienced with a falling tree causing a fatality.
- The climate in Hunan, like Shanghai, has been volatile lately, leading to severe weather conditions that cause tragedies like the landslide that took twelve lives.
- Beijing, being located in Central China, has been unaffected by Typhoon "Gaemi" so far, but other regions in China like Hunan and Jilin have seen substantial evacuation efforts due to heavy rainfall.
- The climate in southern parts of China, such as Fujian and Guangdong, has also been impacted by Typhoon "Gaemi", leading to suspended train connections and residents being evacuated to safety.
- China is not the only country facing weather-related issues; Typhoon "Gaemi" has brought about devastation in the Philippines, resulting in a rising death toll and an oil spill from a sunken tanker.
- Just like what happened in Hunan, the climate in other countries like the Philippines can sometimes lead to catastrophic events caused by severe weather, such as the flooding and loss of life in the Philippines due to Typhoon "Gaemi".
