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Tropical storm hits China's southeast coast after killing hundreds in Philippines
China's southeast was already trying to recover from flooding earlier this month that killed at least 63 people, forced the evacuation of at least 1.66 million and caused billions of dollars in damage in a region anchored by the country's manufacturing capital, the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province. Fengshen made landfall Wednesday morning with winds of up to 51 mph (83 kilometers per hour) in the economic boomtown of Shenzhen, whose meteorological station forecast up to almost 8 inches (200 millimeters) of rain Wednesday and Thursday, the state-run --inhua News Agency reported. Both Shenzhen and nearby Hong Kong stopped school classes Wednesday, and more than 13,000 ships in Guangdong Province came back to harbor before the storm made landfall, --inhua reported. The Hong Kong government also closed all courts and financial markets in the morning after a weather alert was issued late Tuesday. There have been at least nine reports of flooding in various parts of the city, the government said in a statement Flood control authorities in Shenzhen told the news agency that no deaths had been reported as of Wednesday morning. --inhua quoted meteorologists in the region as saying the tropical storm was expected to weaken as it moved north and further inland. The China Central Meteorological Station said Fengshen's heavy rains also will affect the provinces of Fujian, Guangxi, Jiangxi and Hunan, according to the news agency. Fengshen left more than 800 passengers and crew members missing in the Philippines this week after a ferry capsized in the rough weather. Four dozen survivors have been found. The storm's toll on shore in the Philippines included 227 dead and 275 missing in the worst-hit area, with dozens reported killed elsewhere by floods and landslides. China has given little attention to this month's flooding in its southern region, instead keeping the focus firmly on relief for last month's earthquake in central Sichuan Province. The death toll from that disaster is expected to pass 80,000, Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu said Tuesday. |
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