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| Typhoon Chanchu Hits China |
| More than a million evacuated from coast |
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Alex Argote (alexphil)  |
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Published 2006-05-20 05:23 (KST) |
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Apparently not contented at having mauled the Philippine archipelago and killing many Filipinos, the unusually strong tropical storm Chanchu crossed over the South China Sea seeking more blood and pummelled the shores of mainland China.
The Chinese government, quickly learning from the recent Philippine disaster in which many people drowned and several vessels were sunk, not to mention tens of thousands of homes destroyed, immediately evaucated about a million Chinese living in the coastal communities before the typhoon struck.
With an explosive force of 180 kilometers per hour, Chanchu barreled out of the Philippines after heaping miserey and death and tore across the South China Sea.
The National Committee for Search and Rescue of Vietnam reported that three ships and about 30 fishermen were still missing after Chanchu passed their area of responsibility.
The powerful Pacific storm pounded the southern and eastern coast of China and blew away numerous dwellings like pices of cardboard as it raced on the final leg of its march of destruction and death across south east Asia. Authorities reported that the typhoon caused heavy flooding in many parts of China's coastal regions.
Eight people lost their lives in Guandong province and another ten in Fujian. Reports said that the storm's winds caused houses to collapse and some landslides in Shantou city were brought on by heavy rains.
By Thursday night, the rage of Chanchu had somewhat abated. But Taiwan reported an appalling loss of 158.88 million taiwan dollars or $5 million in the island country's agriculture sector.
These tropical storms, sometimes called megastorms take form and produce destructive strength from warm waters in the world's oceans and roar into islands and continents that lay in their path.
These periodic weather occurrences are known by various terms around the world. In the North Atlantic and Eastern Pacific regions, they are called hurricanes. Over the Indian ocean and the subcontinent of South Asia, the people there call them cyclones. And in the Western Pacific and South east Asian regions, the storms are dubbed as typhoons.
One of the deadliest hurricanes in American history is the hurricane Katrina which particularly hit the city of New Orleans the hardest. Said to be a category 5 storm, Katrina came from the Bahamas sea in August 2005 and leapt into southern Florida with modest strength. Eventually, Katrina gained more power and soon became one of the strongest hurricanes recorded in the Gulf area.
Katrina caused catastrophic damage along the shores of several southern United States coastal areas and many cities. The city of New Orleans became flooded when its dikes gave way to overwhelming winds and the U.S. government was forced to airlift the city's beleaguered residents.
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©2006 OhmyNews
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