Dual typhoons lash coastal regions in east China

 FUZHOU, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Gales¹ and rainstorms lashed² coastal³ regions in east China when two typhoons made landfall in less than 10 hours from Thursday to Friday morning, forcing over 300,000 people to evacuate⁴.

Strong tropical storm Saola, weakening from a typhoon, made landfall in Fuding city of southeastern province of Fujian at 6:50 a.m. Friday, packing winds of 25 meters per second near its center, according to Fujian Provincial⁵ Meteorological Station.

It is expected to move northwestward at a speed of 15 to 20 km per hour, bringing heavy rains to the northern part of Fujian and inland province of Jiangxi later Friday, the station said.

As of 6 a.m. Friday, 306,000 residents in Fujian had been relocated to safe places, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

The station said local governments should prepare for storm-triggered natural disasters such as floods, mudslides and landslips.

Saola previously⁶ made landfall at 3 a.m. Thursday in Hualien, Taiwan, bringing heavy rains and forcing most schools and offices on the island to close.

As Saola was pounding the southeastern coast, Damrey, the 10th typhoon of the year, made landfall near Xiangshui county in east China's Jiangsu province around 9:30 p.m. Thursday.

The storm brought torrential rain to Jiangsu and the southern coastal areas of Shandong province early Friday morning, with the highest rainfall reaching 174 mm in Rizhao city of Shandong, local meteorological authorities said.

As of early Friday morning, the storm left one dead, a total of 550,000 people affected⁷, and 23,723 houses damaged in Rizhao with the direct economic losses totaling 530 million yuan (83.1 million U.S. dollars). It also forced the relocation of 26,300 residents, according to Rizhao's civil affairs bureau.

It is moving northwestward at a speed of 25 km per hour. Strong winds and rainstorms from the typhoon have lashed the cities of Linyi, Rizhao, Qingdao and Weifang.

Shandong province relocated 168,000 people to safe places and ordered more than 40,000 ships to return to harbor as of early Friday morning, the provincial department of civil affairs said.

Twenty-nine flights were canceled at the Qingdao Liuting International Airport Thursday night. However, no flights were affected Friday morning, the airport said.

As of 9 a.m. Friday, at least four trains on a railway from the city of Yanzhou to Rizhao in Shandong were delayed as a result of the storm.

It is rare to see two typhoons making landfall in China successively within 24 hours, said Zhang Chang'an, deputy director of the typhoon and marine⁸ meteorology center of the China Meteorological Administration.

This is only the second time that China has braced⁹ for dual¹⁰ typhoons at almost the same time since 1949. In 2006, Typhoon Bopha and Typhoon Saomai hit the country successively, causing severe losses, according to Zhang.

"It costs considerable manpower and resources to tackle two typhoons," Zhang said.

Chinese Premier¹¹ Wen Jiabao on Wednesday urged local governments to make full preparations for the approaching typhoons, so as to ensure safety of both the residents and properties.

Wen also asked local authorities to closely monitor the typhoons, their effects on the situation of major rivers, and publicize relevant information in a timely manner.

As of 8 a.m Friday, Saola and Damrey had forced the evacuation of about 204,000 residents in Zhejiang, 168,000 in Shangdong, and 89,000 in Jiangsu, according to the National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry¹² of Civil Affairs.

1 gales   

龙猫

参考例句：

• I could hear gales of laughter coming from downstairs. 我能听到来自楼下的阵阵笑声。
• This was greeted with gales of laughter from the audience. 观众对此报以阵阵笑声。

2 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

4 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

5 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

11 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

12 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。