Typhoon Gaemi lashes southeast China after pounding Taiwan, flooding Philippines

BEIJING — Typhoon Gaemi lashed towns on China's coastal Fujian province on Friday (July 26) with heavy rains and strong winds as the most powerful storm to hit the country this year began its widely watched trek into the populous interior.

The storm, which has already killed dozens of people as it swept through Taiwan and worsened seasonal rains in the Philippines, has affected almost 630,000 people in China's Fujian so far, with almost half of them having to be relocated, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Gaemi was still packing winds of up to 100.8 kph (62.6 mph) near its centre, easing slightly from 118.8 kph logged on Thursday night when it landed in the Fujian city of Putian.

While Gaemi has been downgraded as a tropical storm due to the slower wind speeds, its vast cloud-bands remain a significant flood risk, particularly to rivers in central China already elevated due to an earlier bout of summer rains.

Scientists have warned that global warming was worsening tropical storms, making them less frequent but much more intense, according to a report published on Friday.

Hours ahead of the typhoon's arrival, the Standing Committee of the Communist Party's politburo, helmed by President Xi Jinping, held a special meeting on flood control and urged cadres across the country to protect lives.

Efforts must be made to prevent any breaches of major rivers and the collapse of large and key medium-sized reservoirs, according to a readout of the meeting published by Xinhua.

Due to the typhoon, 72 townships across Fujian recorded an accumulated precipitation exceeding 250 mm (9.8 inches), with the highest reaching 512.8 mm, local weather bureaus said.

By late Friday, Gaemi is expected to reach Jiangxi province, home to