Over one million flee as typhoon batters Taiwan and China; 34 people killed; up to 1,000 missing
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A powerful typhoon toppled houses, flooded villages and forced nearly 1 million people to flee to safety on China's eastern coast and Taiwan and left about a thousand people missing before weakening into a tropical storm Monday.
High winds and torrential rain of Typhoon Morakot hit coastal Chinese provinces of Fujian and Zhejian hardest, and caused the worst flooding in decades in Taiwan -- where flood waters as high as 7 feet were reported, China Daily reported.
The deadly typhoon swept across the Philippines and Taiwan's Hualien region before crashing into eastern China, claiming at least 34 lives along the way.
Government officials expect the typhoon to cause more than 8.5 million yuan ($1.2 billion) in damages.
In China, five houses were destroyed as the front of the typhoon brought flooding rains to Wenzhou City in neighboring Zhejiang province just after 8 a.m. Sunday. Three adults and a 4-year-old boy were buried in debris about 8 a.m. Rescue workers were unable to save the child, and he died, the city's flood-control headquarters told Xinhua news agency.
A "red alert" -- the highest degree in danger levels -- was issued in Zhejiang, where more than 35,000 vessels were called back from sea, China Daily reported, citing provincial flood control officials.
More than 300 homes collapsed, and more than 16,000 hectares (39,500 acres) were flooded, Xinhua said. The city's airport was closed and 56 roads were rendered impassable.
Nearly a million people were evacuated from Fujian and Zhejiang provinces as Morakot approached. Late Friday, the storm lashed Taiwan, killing two people, wounding 15 and knocking off power to about 650,000 households, according to Hong Kong's Metro Radio.
Meanwhile, another typhoon hit west Japan on Monday, with 12 people confirmed dead and two others are missing, police said.
Two villagers battle through a flooded village in Cangnan county in east China's Zhejiang province
Emergency evacuation: A rescuer pulls a crying baby out of floodwater
Local residents try to catch fish at a flooded fish pond as Typhoon Morakot approaches in Fujian province
Up to their heads: A team of rescuers rows a life boat in a flooded street in Chiatung Town, after the storm dumped more than 80 inches of rain
Crumbling away: A road linking Pingtung and Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan has been badly damaged by waves caused by the typhoon
Stranded: Rescuers try to reach a man who climbed up a poll to escape the floods
High alert: Paramilitary police drive a motorboat in a flooded village in Cangnan county, eastern China, where nearly one million people have evacuated their homes
Clinging on for life: A Taiwanese man grabs hold of a plastic container in a bid to stay afloat