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Typhoon Causes Eastern China Landslide, Deaths

Reuters

   BEIJING - Eighteen people were killed and 14were missing in eastern
   China Saturday in a landslide triggered by a major typhoon, which
   caused widespread transportation disruptions and the evacuation of more
   than 1 million people, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

   Typhoon Lekima made landfall early Saturday in the eastern province of
   Zhejiang with maximum winds of 187 km (116 miles) per hour, although it
   had weakened from its earlier designation as a "super" typhoon, the
   official Xinhua news agency reported.

   Thousands of flights were canceled in eastern China, according to the
   country's aviation regulator, with most flights into and out of
   Shanghai's two major airports canceled Saturday afternoon, their
   websites showed.

   China's weather bureau Saturday issued an orange alert, its second
   highest, after posting a red alert Friday, when the storm forced flight
   cancellations in Taiwan and shut markets and businesses on the island.

   The deadly landslide occurred about 130 km north of the coastal city of
   Wenzhou, when a natural dam collapsed in an area deluged with 160
   millimeters (6.3 inches) of rain in three hours, CCTV reported.

   The storm was moving northward at 15 kph and was gradually weakening,
   Xinhua reported, citing the weather bureau.

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