Over 880,000 residents of Fujian affected by Typhoon Doksuri

FUZHOU, July 29 (Xinhua) -- More than 880,000 residents of east China's Fujian Province have been affected by Typhoon Doksuri, which made landfall in the province on Friday morning.

Typhoon Doksuri landed on the coast of Jinjiang City at 9:55 a.m. on Friday, bringing powerful winds and heavy rain. It moved to Jiangxi Province on Friday night, where it gradually weakened into a tropical storm.

The Fujian provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters on Saturday said that, as of 8:00 a.m. Saturday, 354,400 people have been evacuated and 146,200 people have been relocated to safer areas.

More than 6,333 hectares of farmlands in Fujian have been affected, with over 151 hectares suffering complete crop failure. A total of 44 houses have collapsed and 178 houses have been severely damaged, with direct economic losses totaling 428 million yuan (about 59.99 million U.S. dollar).

Official meteorological forecasts show that heavy rainfall will continue in many parts of Fujian. Six local observation stations have recorded their highest daily precipitation figures since 1961.

The provincial meteorological bureau has issued warnings for possibile secondary disasters such as mountain torrents, mudslides, landslides, and urban and rural waterlogging in its coastal cities and northern regions, including Putian, Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Ningde.