Typhoon Gaemi Displaces Nearly 300,000 In Eastern China

Authorities evacuated nearly 300,000 people and suspended public transport across eastern China on Friday, as Typhoon Gaemi brought torrential rains already responsible for five deaths in nearby Taiwan. Gaemi was the strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan in eight years when it made landfall on Thursday, flooding parts of the island's second-biggest city. China is enduring a summer of extreme weather, with heavy rains across the east and south coming as much of the north has sweltered under successive heatwaves. Chinese authorities warned Typhoon Gaemi was bringing with it torrential rains that could cause flooding. The province's Wenzhou city - home to nine million people - has issued its highest warning for rainstorms and evacuated nearly 7,000 people, CCTV said. The typhoon will also bring heavy rainfall to central Jiangxi and Henan, state media said. Citing the official China Weather Network, the broadcaster said the typhoon was moving northwestward at about 20 kilometres per hour.