Typhoon Gaemi has reached southeastern China after churning across the Taiwan Strait.
The typhoon has prompted warnings of swelling rivers, flash floods and waterlogging in cities and provinces that were hit by extreme rains several weeks ago.
The third and most powerful typhoon to hit China’s eastern seaboard this year made landfall in Fujian province at 7:50 pm (11:50 GMT) on Thursday after whipping Taiwan with gusts of up to 227 kilometres per hour (141 miles per hour), some of the strongest winds recorded in the Western Pacific Ocean.
Before its arrival, 240,800 people in Fujian were evacuated.
Despite slightly weakening since its landfall in Fujian’s Putian, a city of more than 3 million people, Gaemi and its giant storm bands are forecast to unleash intense rainfall in at least 10 Chinese provinces in the coming days.
The arrival of Gaemi has drawn comparisons with Typhoon Doksuri last year, which triggered historic flooding as far north as Beijing and caused nationwide losses of nearly $30bn.
Authorities said water levels in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River as well as the vast freshwater lakes of Poyang and Dongting in central China could rise, returning to dangerous levels seen in early July after intense summer rains.
Beijing cautioned that due to its high vapour content, Gaemi could lead to strong rainfall in the Chinese capital, about 2,000km (1,242 miles) north of Putian, even as the storm weakens into a tropical depression.
Authorities warned that Gaemi’s rains could cause flash floods and waterlogging, particularly in parts of northern China, where the soil remains saturated after being lashed by a passing system of storms earlier this week.
Gaemi had intensified seasonal rains earlier in the week in the Philippines, where the death toll climbed to 22 with at least three people missing, according to police.
The Philippine coastguard reported that an oil tanker, MT Terra Nova, loaded with about 1.4 million litres (370,000 gallons) of industrial fuel oil, sank off Bataan province early on Thursday and rescuers saved 15 of 16 crew members.
Gaemi causes deadly destruction in Taiwan
In Taiwan, Gaemi killed three people, triggered flooding and sank a freighter after making landfall on Wednesday night.
Some parts of southern Taiwan are expected to have recorded rainfall of 2,200mm (87 inches) since Tuesday. The storm cut power to about half a million households although most are now back online, utility Taipower said.
Apart from the three fatalities, the typhoon in Taiwan injured 380 people, the government said.
Taiwan’s fire department said a Tanzania-flagged freighter with nine Myanmar nationals on board had sunk off the coast of the southern port city of Kaohsiung.
Three of them have since been found alive on the shoreline, Taiwan’s coastguard said.
Taiwan television stations showed pictures of flooded streets in cities and counties across the island.
Offices, schools and the financial markets closed for a second day on Thursday. Trains were stopped until 3pm (07:00 GMT), and all domestic flights and 195 international flights were cancelled.
