Typhoon Haikui hits Chinese coast, Zhejiang battered

Beijing, Aug 8: Dozen of people were left stranded in the eastern part

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Haikui, the worst to hit China's coast since 2005, made land fall in the Zhejiang Province on Wednesday, authorities said.

Over two lakh were already evacuated for safety in Shanghai.

Haikui landed in Hepu Township, Xiangshan County near the Sanmenwan Gulf in central Zhejiang at 3:20 am with the maximum wind speed at 150 kilometers per hour, the provincial observatory said.

The rain-triggered flooding stranded about 130 people in three farmer's hotels in the city of Lin'an which the provincial capital Hangzhou administers, said Lin'an municipal rescuers.

So far 123 people have been rescued while ten others have yet to be reached by the rescuers, they said.

The rescuers once had difficulty to reach the hotels as roads towards it have been flooded and they had to march the last two km on foot, state run Xinhua quoted rescuers as saying.

Haikui is the third typhoon to wallop China's eastern coast in a week, after storms Saola and Damrey hit the region over the weekend.

Authorities have already evacuated over two lakh people residing in vulnerable in China's commercial hub, Shanghai were evacuated.

Those living in temporary housing at construction sites, makeshift housing and seawall regions have been moved to school buildings, stadiums and other shelters, officials said.

PTI