China: Typhoon Neoguri - Apr 2008

BEIJING, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- More than 88,900 people were killed or went missing in natural disasters in China in 2008, and about 470 million people were affected, according to a government report Wednesday.

More than 26.82 million people were relocated and the total direct economic loss was put at 1,175.24 billion yuan (172.16 billion U.S.

BEIJING, Jun 22, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- China's crop output is forecast to exceed 120 million tons this summer, 2.5 million tons more than a year ago, Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai said here on Sunday.

This would mark the fifth consecutive summer of bumper harvest for the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Sun said during a countryside tour in Beijing.

Rapeseed output was expected to rise by more than 400,000 tons to 11.85 million tons, reversing a declining streak for three consecutive years.

In spite of major …

BEIJING, May 8, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- A total of 55 people were either dead or missing in China's natural disasters in April this year, including 15 in 174 forest fires, the Ministry of Civil Affairs reported on Thursday.

Figures also showed 14.43 million people were affected by natural disasters, including gale, hailstones, droughts, low and freezing temperature, and snow storms, while 579,000 people were forced to leave their homes.

More than 18,500 houses collapsed and nearly 1.948 million hectares of farmland were affected.

Total direct losses amounted …

HAIKOU, Apr 21, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- Eighteen Chinese fishermen seeking shelter from strong gales brought by Typhoon Neoguri in a sea beacon for nearly 30 hours without any food have been rescued, rescuers said.

The 18 people were among the 26 rescued Chinese fishermen who returned to Sanya, a southern city of China's Hainan Province on Monday.

Deng Dafang, captain of fishing boat "Qinghai 01030" from Hainan, still remembered clearly their ordeal.

At 3 a.m.

By Eric Porterfield, Media Officer, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

The Red Cross Society of China has dispatched a relief team to Hainan to deliver essential aid to people affected by Typhoon Neoguri, which has left three dead and 40 missing, according to state media.

To date, Red Cross relief workers have distributed 20 metric tonnes of rice, 1,400 items of clothing, and 200 pairs of shoes.

Three people were confirmed dead in mud flows and strong winds caused by Typhoon Neoguri in south China's Guangdong Province, said the provincial flood-control headquarters on Sunday.

The typhoon claimed two lives in Shenzhen City, when a mud flow inundated a section of road under construction.

Shipping services across Qiongzhou Strait in south China resumed Saturday after a 17-hour suspension due to typhoon Neoguri.

The Maritime Safety Administration Bureau of Hainan Province revoked the suspension at 11:40 a.m. Saturday, considering the waters were safe.

Passengers and vehicles have begun to board on ships at Xiuying Port in Haikou, capital of Hainan.

Typhoon Neoguri, the first to hit south China this year, weakened into a severe tropical storm and landed at Longlou Town, Wenchang City, in the northeast of the island province of Hainan at 10:30 p.m.

GUANGZHOU, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Typhoon Neoguri on Saturday hit south China's Guangdong Province with heavy rains and strong winds, but no casualties have been reported, local authorities said.

As the typhoon is weakening, the storm surge warning was lifted at around 5 p.m. by the State Oceanic Administration's South China Sea Marine Prediction Center.

But heavy rain is expected in the Pearl River Delta and eastern Guangdong in the following days, according to the meteorological station of Guangzhou city, Guangdong Province.

The southern China provinces of Hainan and Guangdong are bracing for typhoon Neoguri, the first to affect the region this year, by issuing precautions and urging vessels to return to harbor.

About 21,800 fishing boats in Hainan Province have returned to shore for shelter with six others on their way to nearby harbors, said the Hainan provincial flood control headquarters on Thursday.

Neoguri was 440 kilometers southeast of Sanya City at 8 a.m. on Thursday, packing winds of up to 126 kilometers per hour.

China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued a warning against typhoon Neoguri on Thursday afternoon, forecasting it was likely to land along the southeastern coast of Hainan Province or skim over the offshore areas between Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.

The latest forecast at 5 p.m.

Beijing_(dpa) _ Storms left 56 fishermen missing off southern China's Hainan island on Friday, as the approach of typhoon Neoguri forced the evacuation of at least 47,500 people, state media said.

A maritime rescue team set out at 11 am (0300 GMT) to look for the 56 missing fishermen after officials had lost contact since Thursday evening with three boats sheltering near a reef in the Xisha Archipelago in the South China Sea, the official Xinhua news agency said.

More than 80,000 fishermen on Hainan's 21,825 registered fishing boats had taken shelter at harbours or …