Beijing: Seventeen people were killed and 32 injured in Taiwan after a barrier lake overflow triggered by heavy rain from super Typhoon Ragasa, while over two million people were evacuated for safety in China’s global manufacturing hub, Guangdong province, on Wednesday.
Stated to be the most powerful storm to hit the Chinese coast, Ragasa is the 18th typhoon of the year, official media here reported.
In eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County, 17 people died and 32 were injured after the barrier lake burst on Tuesday, triggered by the typhoon, local authorities said. Seventeen people are still missing, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Most of the victims, mainly elderly residents, were found in Guangfu Township in Hualien.
In China’s Guangdong province, which was hit by Ragasa on Wednesday, more than 2.16 million residents had been relocated. Typhoon Ragasa, with maximum wind force near its centre reaching 40 metres per second, churned ashore at Hailing Island in the city of Yangjiang in Guangdong on Wednesday morning, according to the provincial meteorological observatory.
In Yangjiang City, the landing site of Typhoon Ragasa, 1,038 shelters across the city have been fully opened to the public.agencies