- Typhoon Lekimamade landfall in China on August 10, resulting in widespread blackouts and some damaged property.
- Ahead of the storm’s arrival, 1 million people were evacuated from their homes and hundreds of flights were canceled across major airports in China.
- The typhoon also triggered a landslide in the port city of Wenzhou that killed at least 18 people and left 14 missing.
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China was struck by thethird-largest typhoon in its history on the morning of August 10.
Typhoon Lekima triggered widespread blackouts, flight cancellations, and evacuations across major cities, but by far the most devastating effect was a landslide that killed at least 18 people and left 14 missing.
The storm is nowapproaching Shanghai, the nation’s financial capital, which is home to more than 20 million people.
Take a look at the devastation thus far.
Typhoon Lekima started out as a tropical depression on August 2, then quickly picked up speed as it headed northwest.
The tropical depression (essentially a group of thunderstorms) originated in the Philippine Sea. Five days later, on August 7, it morphed into asuper typhoon, with a wind speed of at least 150 miles per hour.
Before making its way to China, the storm passed through the Philippines, where it caused flooding in more than 400 areas.
The Red Cross estimated thatmore than 17,000 households in the Philippines were affected by the disaster.
The storm prompted the cancellation of hundreds of flights across major airports in China.
Chinauses a color-coded system to inform citizens about weather conditions. Before the storm made landfall, China’s weather bureau issued a “red alert” — themost severe type of warning.
Shanghai Disneyland was also closed due to inclement weather.
In 2017, the theme park became themost-visited site in China, with more than 11 million annual visitors.
A million people were evacuated from their homes ahead of the storm’s arrival.
Evacuees includedmore than 250,000 residents in Shanghai and 800,000 residents in China’s Zhejiang province.
Lekima made landfall in Eastern China on the morning of August 10.
By that time, Lekima had weakened to the equivalent of aCategory 3 storm, withwind speeds of 116 miles per hour.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration classifies Category 3 storms as capable of causing “devastating damage.”
The storm’s arrival triggered a landslide in the port city of Wenzhou, where a natural dam collapsed under pressure from heavy rain.
An estimated 200 homes in the Zhejiang province alsocollapsed due the storm.
Around2.7 million of the province’s households endured blackouts as the storm ravaged electricity lines.
The landslide killed at least 18 people and left 14 missing.
The storm is nowheaded toward Shanghai, a city with more than 20 million people. Lekima is the third-largest typhoon on record in China.
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