One person was killed and 39 were injured as Typhoon Sinlaku swept through east China's Fujian Province late Saturday.
Sinlaku landed at the juncture of Fuding City, in Fujian Province, and Cangnan County, in neighboring Zhejiang Province, at a speed of 32.9 meters per minute at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, bringing heavy rain.
The worst hit areas are Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian, Ningde and Futian cities. The typhoon also destroyed a great number of embankments built to hold back the sea, damaged 107,000 houses, and inundated a large area of cropland.
The direct economic losses caused by the typhoon are estimated at 2.56 billion yuan (US$308 million).
However, an expert from the provincial flood control office believed the actual damage in Fujian would increase as the typhoon continued.
(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2002)
