Typhoon Fung-wong hits China

BEIJING, July 29 (UPI) -- Typhoon Fung-wong, the eighth and strongest storm this season in Asia, smashed into China after killing two people in Taiwan and five in the Philippines.

The storm made landfall late Monday in China's southeastern Fujian province with 74 mph winds.

Authorities had earlier evacuated more than 200,000 people and telecommunication authorities had sent some 20 million text messages to mobile phone users on the typhoon alert, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Another 338,000 people had been evacuated in eastern Zhejiang province, which is also in the storm's path.

Heavy rains and strong winds were expected as the eye of the storm leaves Fujian's Fuqing city, which had already been soaked by more than eight inches of rain, Xinhua said. There were major power disruptions but casualties had been reported.

Forecasters said Fung-wong, which is Cantonese for "Phoenix," was expected to bring heavy rains throughout the coastal areas of the country.

In Taiwan Monday, the storm affected the entire island nation, which is still reeling from last week's tropical storm Kalmaegi, which killed 19 people and left six missing.

Taiwan's Central News Agency said Fung-wong killed at least two people. A 69-year-old man in the southeast who was knocked down by high winds as he tried to repair the roof of his shed. A 55-year-old woman drowned after falling into a stream with her motorcycle.

Taiwan's coast guard rescued 15 crew members Tuesday from an Indonesian-registered cargo vessel which ran aground off Pingtung County due to strong wind and heavy rain from the typhoon, the report said.