Typhoon Doksuri swept into China’s south-eastern Fujian province on Friday, bringing heavy rain and violent gusts of wind that shook power lines, uprooted trees and forced factories and shopping centres to shut.
The second strongest typhoon to land in Fujian after the deadly Typhoon Meranti in 2016 also forced the closure of schools and the evacuation of workers from offshore oil and gas fields, state media reported. There were no immediate reports of injuries or fatalities.
Doksuri’s wind speed was clocked at 85.1mph (137kmh) as of 1pm local time, according to China’s National Meteorological Center. Hourly rainfall in Xiamen, Quanzhou and Putian exceeded 50mm, the China Meterological Administration said.
“The whole of Xiamen didn’t go to work this morning,” a Xiamen resident surnamed Zhuang told Reuters. “There are no cars on the roads, and factories and shopping malls are closed. Guess people are scared after Meranti previously.”
Social media video showed electrical power lines sparking and bursting into flames in Jinjiang, a city of 2 million, while in Quanzhou massive trees were uprooted and left in the middle of roads.
A woman’s voice in the background of one video shouted: “So many fallen trees. Some are broken down. It is a mess. This is too much. It is horrible.“
Videos showed strong winds blowing a large incense burner across the ground at a temple in Jianjiang. Residents made makeshift barriers at doors to stop rain from flooding into apartments. There were power and water cuts in some areas of Jinjiang and Quanzhou, residents told Reuters.
Doksuri, the second typhoon to make landfall in China in less than two weeks, will move north bringing heavy rain to 10 provinces, forecasters say.
It will move over the agricultural province of Anhui, dumping rain on its developing corn, rice, soya bean and cotton crops. Analysts say it should weaken by then but are watching closely for potential crop damage.
Typhoon Doksuri has already left a wake of death and destruction as it moved from the Philippines to southern Taiwan. The storm cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes in southern Taiwan, prompting authorities to shut business for a second day on Friday and warn of extreme winds, landslides and floods. Doksuri was categorised at the second strongest typhoon level by Taiwan’s weather bureau.
A hurricane-force-wind alert was issued in the Taiwanese islands of Penghu and Kinmen, where residents were warned to brace for gusts of more than 96mph.
The storm cut power to more than 278,000 homes across Taiwan and downed hundreds of trees in Kaohsiung. Rainfall of more than 1 metre was recorded in the mountainous eastern and southern parts of the island.
More than 200 domestic and international flights were suspended or delayed on Friday and railway services between southern and eastern Taiwan were halted.
A ferry sank near the Philippine capital, Manila, after passengers alarmed by strong winds rushed to one side of the boat, overturning it. As many as 36 people have been killed this week during Doksuri’s transit off the northern Philippines.
