Shanghai Evacuates Thousands Ahead of Typhoon

Quoted by: By VOA News 18 September 2007

China has evacuated about 1.6 million people from coastal areas as a powerful typhoon churns toward the coast of Zhejiang province and the country's commercial center, Shanghai.

Shanghai residents struggle through flooded roads as a typhoon bears down on the city, 18 Sep 2007Meteorologists say Typhoon Wipha likely will make landfall near Shanghai by early Wednesday. Earlier, China's national meteorological center said the storm, a so-called "super typhoon," was moving toward the coast at 25 to 30 kilometers per hour, with winds as high as 198 kilometers an hour.

Authorities warn that Wipha may be the most destructive storm in a decade. Some ferry services have been suspended and fishing boats called into harbor as authorities evacuated people from Shanghai, Zhejiang and neighboring Fujian province.

Organizers of the Women's World Cup, which is under way in Shanghai, rescheduled Tuesday's game between Norway and Ghana to Wednesday and moved its location to the city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province.

Authorities in northern Taiwan ordered schools, offices and the stock market closed.
Another storm, Typhoon Nari, hit South Korea Sunday. It killed 14 people and displaced nearly 1,000 others.

Flooding from that storm knocked out electricity to thousands of homes, destroyed hundreds of houses and businesses, damaged crops and washed out roads.
Forecasters say South Korea could again be pounded by heavy rains as Typhoon Wipha heads back out to sea later this week.