Rescue efforts underway after Typhoon Lekima leaves 28 dead

China was hit twice by the deadly typhoon. A search and rescue operation was still underway as of 8 am on Sunday after the deadly Typhoon Lekima left 28 dead and trail of destruction in Zhejiang province. Che Jun, Party secretary of Zhejiang, rushed to Linhai, a county in Taizhou in central coastal Zhejiang, on […]

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August 12, 2019

China was hit twice by the deadly typhoon.

A search and rescue operation was still underway as of 8 am on Sunday after the deadly Typhoon Lekima left 28 dead and trail of destruction in Zhejiang province.

Che Jun, Party secretary of Zhejiang, rushed to Linhai, a county in Taizhou in central coastal Zhejiang, on Sunday morning to check and guide the efforts after the heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon Lekima caused serious water logging in Linhai’s 1,000-year-old ancient town, killing four with three missing.

The town, located at the mouth of the Lingjiang River, saw a night of massive fight against flood, after rainwater rushed into the ancient city wall and water level rose to 1.5 meters high in the town.

The flooding was so severe that the local police and rescue authorities issued an emergency call online Saturday afternoon, appealing for the public to aid the city with boats to evacuate the population affected.

The Zhejiang Fire Brigade dispatched a team of 122 to Linhai Saturday night to reinforce the efforts there.

By Sunday noon, the flood had gradually retreated, with water level dropping by 30-50 cm from its peak, reported the Zhejiang Daily.

Among the dead, 22 were killed in Yongjia county after a lake barrier burst due to typhoon. Ten people in the village were missing after the incident.

Three were killed and four missing in Lin’an, while three died and three were missing in Leqing, and three were unaccounted for in Linhai.

Typhoon Lekima brought heavy rainstorms in Yongjia county and caused a landslide that blocked the rivers, raising the water level to a maximum of 10 meters within 10 minutes and trapping 120 villagers.

More than 420 armed police and firefighters were dispatched to the scene to help with the rescue work.

Communication service has been restored, and water and electricity supply and road repair are underway.

So far, the deadly typhoon has damaged 34,000 houses in rural Zhejiang, with direct economic losses reaching 14.57 billion yuan, according to the provincial flood-control authority on Sunday.

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