China stands in the warpath of an extremely powerful typhoon. Typhoon Chan-hom is heading directly for China’s heavily populated Eastern seaboard. China’s Meteorological Center believes that this could be the strongest storm to hit the province of Zhejiang since 1949.
When will it hit land?
Chan-hom is expected to reach land near Ningbo port which is home to almost 6 million people. After that, it is anticipated to directly hit Shanghai and its population of 23 million. Yesterday, the typhoon was around 47 miles (75 km) from the Zhejiang coast. Zhejiang has already evacuated almost 1 million people and recalled its entire fishing fleet. Authorities say that nearly 30,000 watercraft were docked safely.
How severe is Typhoon Chan-hom?
The United States Typhoon Warning Center reported that typhoon Chan-hom was created waves up to 33 feet (10 m) in height. Its winds ranked in at an astonishingly high 107 mph (173 km/h). While the storm’s classification was lowered from “super” to “strong”, the highest red alerts are still in effect. An entire abandoned building was even destroyed due to the typhoon, reports a provincial television station.
What effects does this typhoon have on the country?
Trees, street signs, and power lines are being blown down and tossed about across Zhejiang. Some parts of the province got up to 12 inches (30 mm) of rain in 24 hours. Over 100 trains were canceled between the cities along with flights, buses, and ferry services.
This will be the second typhoon to hit China this week, with the first being typhoon Linfa. Typhoon Chan-hom is being followed by another, more severe storm Nangka which may pose a serious threat to Japan in the following few days. This metaphorical conga-line of typhoons is caused by a rapid, natural heating and cooling of the ocean waters and the wind in the area. The opposing temperatures create a flux of energy that takes on the form of storms like these.
The area is being monitored for signs of the development of anymore serious storms. If the storms continue to be as relentless as they are, more precaution and evacuations will need to be undergone.
