2 dead as storm triggers landslides, hits south China coast

Typhoon Bailu brought on a downpour and strong winds in Taipei yesterday. Taiwan shut businesses and schools as airlines cancelled hundreds of flights, amid warnings of landslides, floods and high seas on the island. Bailu, categorised at the weakest
PHOTO: EPA-EFE

TAIPEI (AP) - A powerful tropical storm swept across southern Taiwan, triggering landslides and flooding and leaving at least one dead before it hit southern China on Sunday (Aug 25) morning, officials said.

A 17-year-old died and two children were injured in another landslide in the northern Philippines on Saturday, authorities reported.

In Taiwan, an 18-year-old motorcycle rider died shortly before midnight in Tainan city after hitting a fallen tree, a disaster response official said.

The number of injured across Taiwan has reached nine.

Tropical Storm Bailu brought heavy rain and winds up to 118km per hour as it crossed the southern half of the island.

Fourteen tourists were among those trapped after the landslide in Hualien county.

About 450 people were evacuated around the island and 12,000 households were without power late Saturday afternoon.

The storm made a second landfall in China's Fujian province on Sunday with maximum winds weakening to 90kmh, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Tropical storms and typhoons, which gather strength from the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, hit Taiwan, China, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam from June through November each year.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on August 25, 2019, with the headline 2 dead as storm triggers landslides, hits south China coast. Subscribe