Nearly 500 000 people were evacuated from their homes in south-east China as the region, already suffering from two months of devastating weather, prepared for Typhoon Saomai to make landfall on Thursday.
Saomai, with winds of more than 200kph, was expected to reach the provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang on late Thursday afternoon or evening after pounding Taiwan earlier in the day, the Xinhua news agency said.
While no major damage was reported in Taiwan, authorities in mainland China were preparing for the worst following seven previous storms or typhoons in the south-east over the past two months that have claimed more than 1 000 lives.
In Fujian, 266 000 people were evacuated while another 200 000 people were forced to leave their homes in Zhejiang, Xinhua said.
All 10 286 ships and 35 282 fishermen based in Fujian had returned to harbour by Wednesday evening, while outdoor activities in all 26 800 schools in the province were suspended on Thursday, according to Xinhua.
As much as 25cm of rain was expected to be dumped on Fujian over the next few days, Xinhua said, citing provincial observatory and government officials.
In Zhejiang, the neighbouring province to the north that lies just below Shanghai, 5 638 ships had returned to port.
Hong Kong authorities cancelled or delayed 18 flights to Taiwan as torrential rains and strong winds swept parts of the island.
Saomai, named after the Vietnamese word for the planet Venus, closely followed Prapiroon, a typhoon that made landfall last week in south-east China and killed at least 80 people.
State media said on Wednesday that natural disasters killed nearly 987 people, left another 310 missing and caused 68,8-billion yuan ($8,6-billion) in economic losses across China in July.
The government said in late July that more than 1 300 people had been killed and 306 were missing from weather-related incidents from the start of May to July 21. — Sapa-AFP