Typhoon Sepat floods Manila, eyes Taiwan

Story Highlights
# Sepat expected to reach southern Taiwan Saturday as category 4 typhoon
# Major roads outside Manila flooded with water up to 1.5 meters deep
# Around 100 people evacuated after landslide in neighboring province of Rizal

MANILA, Philippines (Reuters) -- Residents of Manila and northern Philippines braced for more flooding and possible landslides on Thursday as Typhoon Sepat gathered strength northeast of the archipelago en route to Taiwan.

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Filipino students wade through floodwaters as they walk outside their school in Manila Wednesday.
The tropical cyclone, which has intensified into a category 5 super typhoon, brought the Philippine capital to a near standstill on Wednesday as it exacerbated monsoon rains, causing flooding chest-deep in places.

Taiwan issued a sea warning and told local fishermen to return to port, as the storm gathered strength and moved toward its coast.

Sepat, which is currently about 500 km (310 miles) northeast of the Philippines, is expected to reach southern Taiwan on Saturday morning as a category 4 typhoon, according to the British-based Web site Tropical Storm Risk. Although Sepat, which means freshwater fish in Malay, will not make landfall in the Philippines, weather officials have warned the storm -- with gusts of up to 220 km (140 miles) per hour -- will intensify rains. Major roads outside Manila remained flooded with water up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) deep in places, and officials in the neighboring province of Rizal ordered the evacuation of around 100 people after a landslide. "At this time the weather is relatively calm. But once the rains fall again, the inner soil will give way, and another landslide will happen," engineer Jesus Samson told a local radio station. Despite dry skies, schools in the capital and nearby provinces remained shut as residents mopped up following Wednesday's flash floods. Disaster officials have warned small fishing boats to stay in port and have also cautioned residents of coastal areas about big waves and storm surges.

Tropical storms in the region gather intensity from the warm ocean waters and frequently develop into typhoons that hit Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and southern China during a season that lasts from early summer to late autumn

_{Copyright 2007 Reuters.}

Ruim half miljoen Chinezen geëvacueerd voor tyfoon

(Novum/AP) - In China zijn meer dan 540 duizend inwoners van laaggelegen kustgebieden geëvacueerd vanwege de nadering van de tyfoon Sepat, die in Taiwan zeker één leven heeft geëist. Vliegtuigen blijven aan de grond en de veerdiensten in de provincies Fujian, Zhejiang en Guangdong zijn uit de vaart genomen. Tot in Sjanghai wordt hevige regenval verwacht als de wervelstorm zaterdag het vasteland bereikt.

De storm Sepat, Maleis voor een zoetwatervis, komt aan land met windsnelheden van ruim 140 kilometer per uur, meldt het Chinese staatspersbureau Xinhua. Zaterdagochtend vroeg plaatselijke tijd raasde de tyfoon over Taiwan. Hoewel Sepat al de derde storm is die het eiland de afgelopen twee weken bereikte, gaat het om de krachtigste dit jaar tot nu toe. De stroomvoorziening op het eiland begaf het, wegen overstroomden en auto's belandden op hun kop. Zeker één persoon kwam om toen een auto door de wind in een dal werd geblazen.
_{[Copyright 2007, Novum]}

Typhoon Sepat has been battering south-eastern China killing 15 people, after almost a million were evacuated, state media has reported. Winds of up to 119km/h (74mph) hit east China's Fujian province early on Sunday, toppling billboards and lifting roofs, Xinhua news agency said. A tornado thought to be spawned by the typhoon killed 13 people and injured more than 60 in Zhejiang province.

Sepat battered Taiwan on Saturday, disrupting power and causing mudslides. Some 1,800 people were evacuated from their homes.



Torrential rains
More than 540,000 people were moved from their homes in Fujian, and 370,000 were evacuated in the provinces of Zhejiang and Guangdong, emergency officials told Xinhua.



Two people died and another was reported missing in Fujian after the typhoon triggered floods and mudslides. More than 100 domestic and international flights were cancelled and many major roads in the area were closed. Since the storm hit China, at 0200 local time (1800 GMT on Saturday), torrential rains have been reported in the coastal cities of Wenzhou, Pingyang and Taishun. Forecasters say the storm is heading north-west, towards Jiangxi province. On Saturday, meteorologists in Taiwan recorded sustained winds of 126km/h (78mph) off the country's coast. There were unconfirmed reports of one death in Taiwan from Sepat, which earlier blew through the Philippines.

The typhoon is named after a species of fish.

_©BBC

A general view shows a flooded campus in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province. Some 2,500 students from Fuzhou University were transferred to safe areas after their campus was submerged and the electricity was cut off for one day due to the typhoon Sepat. [Xinhua]

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Chinese soldiers evacuate university students from a flooded campus in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province,


A man pushes his tricycle through a flooded street after the typhoon Sepat in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province

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Chinese fishermen arrange the boats after the typhoon Sepat in Quanzhou, East China's Fujian Province,

[img width=443 height=320]http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20070820/001aa018ffa4083310da06.jpg[/img]
Cars are stranded on a flooded street after the typhoon Sepat in Minhou, East China's Fujian Province


Chinese villagers walk through the rubble of houses after typhoon Sepat in Cangnan, East China's Zhejiang Province

_{©China Daily} | Gewijzigd: 2 februari 2017, 09:28 uur, door Joyce.s