Thousands evacuated as Typhoon Narra floods southern China

HONG KONG/TOKYO/TAIPEI: Heavy rain caused by Typhoon Narra brought widespread flooding to southern China on August 25, submerging homes and shops and forcing thousands of people to leave their homes. At the same time, another storm system was moving towards Japan and Taiwan. In Chongzuo, a city in China's Guangxi region known for its giant waterfalls and karst limestone mountains, authorities evacuated more than 15,000 people after floodwaters rose above the previous record set in 2008. Across Guangxi, a total of 54,000 people have been relocated because of the flooding, according to state television. Typhoon Narra had remained over the Beibu Gulf, also known as the Gulf of Tonkin, in the northwestern part of the South China Sea for several days. The storm brought heavy rain to Guangxi and the nearby provinces of Hainan and Guangdong. State media said heavy rain was expected to continue across parts of Vietnam and southern China through August 26. Torrential rain was forecast in parts of Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan and Fujian. In Chongzuo, overflowing river water entered the city. Flood levels rose as high as the rooftops of some buildings and reached power lines. On August 24, Chongzuo authorities ordered all businesses and tourist activities to stop. They also warned residents who had been evacuated not to return to areas considered dangerous. Meanwhile, the medium-strength Typhoon Saudel was moving towards southern Japan and northern Taiwan. It was expected to bring periods of heavy rain, while Taiwan was already dealing with the effects of another weather system. Taiwan reported one death and four people missing after a tropical depression caused flooding in the island's southern and eastern parts. Japan's weather agency warned that Typhoon Saudel could bring destructive wind gusts as it approached the southwestern islands of Okinawa prefecture. The storm was also expected to cause extremely strong winds and dangerous high seas. Taiwan's Central Weather Administration said Saudel was expected to pass north of the island and bring rain to northern Taiwan from late August 20 into the following day. The typhoon was forecast to gradually weaken, with the area affected by storm-force winds also expected to shrink. However, the weather agency said there was still uncertainty over exactly when the heaviest rain would arrive and how severe its effects would be. In southern and eastern Taiwan, flooding caused by the separate tropical depression affected the cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung, which together are home to more than four million people. Nearly one meter, or 3.9 feet, of rain fell in Kaohsiung between August 23 and August 25. The government said this was more rainfall than the city received during the devastating Typhoon Morakot in 2009. Typhoon Morakot killed about 700 people and caused damage estimated at up to $3 billion. Saudel is now forecast to reach the coast of Fujian province in southeastern China between late August 27 and early August 28.