China: At least 28 people have been killed and 20 people are missing after Typhoon Lekima made landfall in eastern China – triggering a landslide.
The typhoon hit the coast south of Shanghai at about 1.45am local time, with more than a million residents evacuated from the area in advance.
More than 180 rescue teams, 36,000 fire-fighters and 8,400 fire engines were put on standby ahead of its landfall in Zhejiang province. The typhoon has caused over 200 homes to collapse – damaging another 3,200.
Dramatic footage showed residents in the hardest-hit areas being rescued from fast-flowing waters that had inundated their homes.
Flood prevention efforts were stepped up along Asia’s longest waterway in the wake of the top-level warning, which has also led authorities to ready evacuations, suspend train and air travel, and call for vessels to return to port.
China has cancelled 2,100 flights and some train services, including the closure of the high-speed train to Pudong International Airport. The typhoon also forced Taiwan to cancel flights and close markets, offices and schools.
It also left more than 40,000 homes without power on the island, where authorities have issued landslide warnings following an earlier earthquake. China’s National Meteorological Centre said Lekima, gusting at 130mph, was the strongest typhoon since 2014.
It warned 24-hour rainfall levels across eastern China could reach up to 32cm (13in).
