BEIJING, Aug. 24 -- The death toll from a killer typhoon that pounded eastern China's Zhejiang Province for two days rose to 512 with another 412 people missing, official media said Wednesday. Provincial authorities described as unprecedented the damage from Typhoon Fred, which packed gale-force winds, 23-foot (seven-meter) surf and torrential rains Sunday and Monday. President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng dispatched a delegation of high-ranking Chinese leaders to inspect the disaster-stricken area and express sympathy for the victims. Soldiers pitched in with rescue efforts, and special work teams attempted to restore electricity, telephone service and railway transportation. Local officials told the Xinhua news service more than 560,000 people were forced to flee as water engulfed their homes. The storm damaged 633 miles (1,056 km) of roads, 2,808 miles (4,681 km) of power transmission lines and 567 miles (946 km) of dykes. Property damage from the storm was placed at $813 million and the number of injured rose to 1,854 in the city of Wenzhou, the China Daily said. The driving winds also lashed the cities of Shanghai and Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, knocking down trees and electric poles and flattening cotton fields. The storm struck Sunday night, churning up huge waves across three rivers near Wenzhou. Embankments along the coast broke at 770 places, severing the city's power and water supply and disrupting land, water and air transportation. Wenzhou Airport was forced to close as torrents reached 4.2 feet (1.3 meters). Industrial and mining enterprises stopped production.
Some 348,750 acres (139,500 hectares) of farmland was ruined and 367, 000 farm animals were killed. Altogether, 8.08 million people were affected. As the typhoon approach, the Zhejiang Provincial Military Area Command issued an urgent order asking People's Liberation Army officers and men to be on full alrt. Contingents started evacuating the stranded that same night. The province was previously battered by this year's heavy flooding, Floods so far have claimed 4,000 lives in southern China and caused $6.1 billion in damage.
