Thu, September 02, 2010
Tropical storm Lionrock batters Taiwan as China prepares for it with mass evacuations.
Heavy rains and howling winds hit the same parts of Taiwan battered by a deadly typhoon last year.
Officials have prepared for mass evacuations for tropical storm Lionrock after 700 people died in the island's worst typhoon in 50 years last August.
"Look, the water was this high last year. I haven't cleaned this part of the wall yet."
The storm struck the island at 108 kilometers, or 67 miles-per-hour, triggering mudslides in the south and prompting emergency teams to pump excess water from danger zones.
"Last year the waves crushed the dam, so the water flooded in."
Lionrock and other storms are also on track to affect China.
Authorities have begun evacuating thousands of people, including 140,000 in the Fujian province across the strait from Taiwan.
This year torrential rains have triggered massive floods in China, killing more than 2,000 people.
Andrew Bossone, Reuters.
