ILAN, Taiwan, Oct 22, 2010 (From AFP) - Typhoon Megi unleashed torrential rains over Taiwan leaving two dozen people missing and hundreds more trapped by landslides Friday, as it bore down on cities along China's southeast coastline. Megi, the strongest storm to hit the northwest Pacific in two decades, has already killed at least 36 people in the Philippines and was expected to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday in Fujian province in southeast China.

Authorities have evacuated more than 150,000 people from low-lying areas of the province, while 10,000 others have been moved to safer ground in Guangdong.

Projections by the Hong Kong Observatory showed the typhoon was likely to hit near the southern Chinese cities of Xiamen and Shantou. Megi will be the 13th typhoon to hit China this year.

Back to top