HONG KONG, China, Wednesday, May 17, 2006 (From AP) - Typhoon Chanchu, packing 160 kilometer per hour winds, veered to the east and spared Hong Kong before roaring across mainland China's southern coast, where local media reported more than 180,000 people were evacuated. Chanchu landed to the east of Shantou Thursday morning and continued to move away from Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Observatory said. By 8 a.m. local time, Chanchu had weakened into a severe tropical storm and was centered about 40 kilometers southwest of Xiamen. The Observatory forecast the storm to move northeast or north-northeast at about 30 kph across Fujian. As the storm churned through the South China Sea, it caused an oil tanker to run aground near Taiwan's southern port of Kaohsiung, officials said. Rescuers in helicopters lifted 13 crew members off the ship. Chanchu swept over the Philippines last weekend, killing 37 people and destroying thousands of homes. The typhoon, the strongest yet reported in the South China Sea in May, was heading toward Hong Kong earlier this week, but it changed course overnight, swirling about 224 kilometers east of the city Wednesday. The storm kicked up high waves and spawned squalls but caused no major damage. Hong Kong ordered kindergartens to close Wednesday along with schools for mentally handicapped children. Some ferry services to outlying islands were suspended. A teenager in southern Japan drowned and another was reported missing amid high waves off Hateruma island in the southern island chain of Okinawa, officials said. A third teenager was rescued, according to coast guard spokesman Shoji Kawabata. More than 180,000 people were evacuated from coastal areas in Guangdong, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. The province also called 25,219 ships back to port, Xinhua said. The storm picked up speed as it moved at 25 kph with winds of 160 kph near its center. Taiwan's weather bureau forecast flooding on the outlying islands of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu. Schools in Kinmen would close on Thursday because of the storm, officials said. The weather bureau also warned residents of areas along Taiwan's western coastline against the danger of flooding and landslides.

This Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) image was acquired over the coastal areas of southern China on Wednesday, where Typhoon Chanchu hit. It was the strongest storm ever to hit the Guangdong province. The coastlines have been highlighted in red to define their locations.

Back to top