Typhoon Usagi leaves 25 dead in southern China

Typhoon Usagi, the strongest storm to hit the western Pacific this year, made landfall in Shanwei, Guangzhou Province, with sustained winds of 109mph and gusts of 132mph.

Torrential rain and a significant storm surge accompanied the damaging winds, forcing 226,000 people to relocate and leaving a similar number without electricity.

Around 7,000 homes are reported to have collapsed due to the typhoon, with uprooted trees and other debris littering the streets.

In Zhelin’s Houjing Port, a large amount of seawater overflowed a 250-meter-long dike and poured into houses of a nearby village.

The flash flood, which according to witnesses was over a metre deep, trapped more than 500 local residents and severely damaged their possessions.

On Monday, 14 cities in Guangdong had still suspended school classes along with, railway and shipping traffic, as a precaution against the storm.

The typhoon is estimated to have caused direct economic losses of 3.24 billion yuan, equivalent to 529.5 million US dollars.

Since making landfall, China’s central meteorological station has downgraded Usagi to a tropical storm, as the storm weakened due to it no longer gaining energy from the warm ocean waters.

Neighbouring Hong Kong escaped the worst of the storm’s wrath, following concerns a few days ago that it would take a direct hit.

However, the area was still hit by heavy rain and strong winds which caused some disruption. 370 flights were cancelled and 76 delayed, with other forms of transported also suspended for a time.

Whilst the storm is in the process of dissipating, its remnants will bring further heavy rain and a risk of flooding to southern China in the next few days.