Typhoon Kaemi weakens over China
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-26 11:47
Tropical storm Kaemi lost much of its punch early
Wednesday after drenching southern China overnight with heavy rain.
Coastal province Fujian was lashed with up to 150 millimeters
(10 inches) of rain and battered by winds gusting at 108 kph (67 mph) after
Kaemi roared ashore Tuesday while still a typhoon, the Xinhua News Agency
reported.
Kaemi was downgraded to a severe tropical storm soon after making landfall
near the Fujian city of Jinjiang.
Earlier in its journey across the South China Sea, the storm brought downpours to
the Philippines and the Taiwan island, knocking out power lines and swelling
rivers but apparently causing no deaths or major damage.
Forecasters said the typhoon's outer band was expected to bring heavy rains
across Taiwan and southern China through Thursday.
By early Wednesday, the storm was moving northwest at about 16 kph (10 mph),
with winds gusting at 57 kph (35 mph).
Fujian evacuated more than 640,000 people ahead of Kaemi's arrival and
ordered 44,000 fishing craft to return to port. There were no reports from the
province of deaths, injuries or serious damage resulting from the storm.
Kaemi, this season's seventh typhoon, comes on the heels of Tropical Storm
Bilis, which pounded southern China from July 14, triggering flooding and
mudslides and killing more than 600 people.
More than two dozen flights out of Fujian's capital Fuzhou were canceled on
Tuesday and state television showed rivers rising and heavy surf along the
coastline earlier in the day.
Kaemi is the Korean word for ant.
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