Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has ordered relevant government
departments to strengthen safety inspections and put public safety
"first and foremost" when facing Typhoon Krosa.
Krosa, which formed on October 2 and escalated to a powerful
typhoon on October 5, finally made landfall in east China on Sunday
afternoon. It had a "strange route" and widespread impact,
according to a government release.
It continued to move northward at a speed of 20 km per hour
after making landfall, but its force gradually weakened, the Fujian
Provincial Meteorological Observatory said.
Vice Premier Hui Liangyu asked locals to "stand to their posts"
and enhance coordination to "closely monitor the development of the
typhoon and rainstorms".
Krosa is expected to trigger gale force winds, torrential rains
and even landslides in some areas of Zhejiang and Fujian, the
observatory said.
"Local departments should continue to evacuate people in danger
and order organized boats back to the harbor to shelter from the
wind," Hui told an emergency meeting on Sunday morning.
Hui also said the safety of reservoirs and flood control
projects should be ensured to prevent landslides.
Krosa, the 16th typhoon this year, packing winds of up to 126 km
per hour, had forced the evacuation of more than 1.41 million
people and 75,000 fishing vessels in the two coastal provinces by
midday on Sunday.
It left four dead, two missing and 52 injured in Taiwan, in
addition to cutting off power supplies and halting highway and air
traffic, local media reported.
(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2007)