China braces for Tropical Storm Nanmadol

SHANGHAI: Tropical Storm Nanmadol headed towards China Tuesday, forcing tens of thousands of boats back to harbour, after leaving a trail of destruction in Taiwan and killing 16 people in the Philippines.

Chinese weather authorities said Nanmadol was expected to make landfall in the southeastern province of Fujian on Tuesday afternoon, bringing heavy rains to the region.

Although Nanmadol was downgraded to a tropical storm from a typhoon on Monday after making landfall in Taiwan, it was still packing winds of 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour, the National Meteorological Centre said in a statement.

Fujian recalled more than 44,000 boats carrying over 119,000 fisherman to harbour, state radio reported.

The province had also suspended shipping services and warned that bullet train services might be slowed or halted, the official Xinhua news agency said.

On Monday, Taiwan deployed more than 50,000 troops and evacuated thousands of people as Nanmadol pummelled some of the island's most densely populated areas in the island's worst typhoon since 2009.

A motorcyclist was killed by falling glass in northern Taiwan after strong winds smashed a window, while landslides trapped more than 300 people in a remote village.

In the Philippines, more than 61,000 people were evacuated after Nanmadol lashed the northern edge of the main island of Luzon at the weekend, causing landslides and floods. Most of the 16 killed were buried in landslides.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011