FUZHOU, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Gales and rainstorms lashed coastal regions in east China when two typhoons made landfall in less than ten hours from Thursday to Friday morning, forcing over 300,000 people to evacuate.
Strong tropical storm Saola, weakening from a typhoon, made landfall in Fuding city of southeastern province of Fujian at 6:50 a.m. on Friday, packing winds of 25 meters per second near its center, according to Fujian Provincial Meteorological Station.
It is expected to move northwestward at a speed of 15 to 20 km per hour, bringing heavy rains to the northern part of Fujian and inland province of Jiangxi later Friday, the station said.
As of 6 a.m. Friday, a total of 306,000 residents in Fujian had been relocated to safe places, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.
The station said local governments should prepare for storm-triggered natural disasters such as floods, mudslides and landslips.
Saola previously made landfall at 3 a.m. Thursday in Hualien, Taiwan, bringing heavy rains and forcing most schools and offices on the island to close.
As Saola was pounding the southeastern coast, Damrey, the 10th typhoon of the year, made landfall near Xiangshui county in east China's Jiangsu Province around 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
The storm brought torrential rain to Jiangsu and the southern coastal areas of Shandong Province early Friday morning, with highest rainfall reaching 174 mm in Rizhao city of Shandong, local meteorological authorities said.
It is moving northwestward at a speed of 25 km/h. Strong winds and rainstorms from the typhoon have lashed the cities of Linyi, Rizhao, Qingdao and Weifang.
Twenty-nine flights were canceled at the Qingdao Liuting International Airport Thursday night. However, the flights had not been affected Friday morning, the airport said.
Editor: An