Chaos follows in Chinese typhoon's wake

[Omaha Steve]

Full story: http://reuters.excite.com/article/20060812/2006-08-12T140026Z_01_PEK147607_RTRIDST_0_INTERNATIONAL-WEATHER-CHINA-TYPHOON-DC.html

Chaos follows in Chinese typhoon's wake
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Aug 12, 10:00 AM (ET)

By Ben Blanchard

LANPING VILLAGE, China (Reuters) - Lin Xianglian was cowering in his kitchen from the strongest typhoon to hit China in half a century when he heard a roar and the house next door collapsed.

"I didn't dare go look what was happening. The wind was so strong my wife and I together were leaning on the front door to stop it blowing in and water was flooding in the back," recalls farmer Lin, 68, sipping tea from a metal bowl.


A resident of Jinxiang, China's eastern province of Zhejiang August 12, 2006, stands in front of his destroyed house following Typhoon Saomai. Typhoon Saomai punched into Cangnan County on Thursday after authorities had moved hundreds of thousands in the densely populated commercial province to safety. REUTERS/Nir Elias


"We could do nothing as my two neighbors got buried alive."

Aid arrived in time for them to be dug out alive, but Lin says he has no idea where his friends are now or if they survived their injuries.

[gula]

1. Mother nature is seriously pissed off

and rightly so.

I only wish she would hit less on the poor.

[AngryAmish]

2. Doing a great job, Brownie

[thecrow]

3. At least the Chinese gov't had the forsight to evacuate people

unlike *some* gov't I know, where the pResident was playing guitar and eating cake as the strongest storm approached...

[uppityperson]

4. BBC says over 250 killed, many many missing, link here, link to picts too

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4788841.stm
Typhoon Saomai, the most powerful storm to hit China in 50 years, killed at least 255 people as it tore through the country's south-east, state media said.

Another 160 people are still missing in the three provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi, Xinhua news agency said.

In Fujian's Fuding city 138 people were killed, mostly fishermen who stayed on their boats during last week's storm. ...(more)

Link to pictures http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4783171.stm