Chinese officials have evacuated more than 100,000 people and recalled tens of thousands of fishing boats into port. Megi had hit Taiwan, leaving hundreds of people injured and three million temporarily without power.
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Typhoon Megi slammed into China's southeastern coast Wednesday morning after raking Taiwan with 100 mph (162 kmph) winds and drenching rains that left four people dead and hundreds injured.
Chinese authorities, anticipating the storm, had evacuated more than 120,000 people from Fujian province. Nearly 32,000 fishing boats were recalled to port and dozens of flights were cancelled.
Up to 16 inches (400 mm) of rain is expected to lash Fujian and neighboring Guangdong province.
Megi dumped more than 12 inches of rain as it whistled across Taiwan, the small island nation 180 kilometers east of China. Mountains in the south and east of the island were hardest hit by the storm, which is 310 miles (500km) in diameter.
Among the dead in Taiwan, three people suffered fatal falls and a fourth person died in a truck crash, according to Lee Wei-sen, a spokesman for Taiwan's Central Emergency Operations Center. In all, more than 520 people were injured, many after being hit by wind-blown objects.
Millions in the dark in Taiwan
Nearly three million households lost power during the height of the storm in Taiwan, but electricity was restored to nearly one million of them by late Tuesday night, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without water in Taiwan. Schools and offices were closed across the country, and most of the railway network was shut down.
Typhoons are typical at this time of year, gathering strength as they crawl across warm Pacific waters, eventually bringing howling winds and rain when they make landfall.
Travel alerts were posted, with warnings given of likely landslides and flooding.
Lee Wei-sen, a spokesman for Taiwan's Central Emergency Operations Center said the storm's one saving grace was that it didn't pass slowly. "The only good news," he said, "is that it's moving fast."
bik/jm (AP, Reuters)
Cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes - the power of devastation
Cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes pack a devastating punch: wherever they go, they leave a trail of destruction. But how do these powerful tropical storms arise?
Image: AFP/D. Sarkar
Social distancing impossible during Cyclone Amphan
Residents along Bangladesh's coast are being moved to safety as one of the strongest cyclones in years strikes the region. Millions of people had to be evacuated from low-lying regions along the Bay of Bengal on May 19. But plans are complicated by the coronavirus precautions. Maintaining social distancing is nearly impossible.
Image: AFP/District Administration of Bhola
Typhoon season amid the COVID-19 pandemic
On May 14, Typhoon Vongfong slammed the Philippines with strong winds and heavy rains, destroying the city of San Policarpo in the eastern province of Samar. At least five people died and more than 91,000 people were forced to leave their homes. Typhoons are not unusual in the Philippines at this time of year. But the COVID-19 outbreak lockdown measures are exacerbating the situation.
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Three names - one phenomenon
Hurricane, typhoon, and cyclone are actually three names for the same phenomenon. Along the North American coast they are called hurricanes, in East and Southeast Asia they are called typhoons, and near India and Australia they are called cyclones. But despite the different names, they develop in the same way.
Image: Reuters
A cyclone is created
Tropical storms develop over oceans when the water temperature is at least 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit). As the warm water evaporates and condenses, the air around it heats up and drags cooler air upwards, creating powerful winds.
The eye of the storm
The Earth's rotation causes the air stream to move around the eye of the storm, which can be up to 50 kilometers wide. This area is nearly completely free of clouds and wind.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A storm hits land
When a tropical storm hits a coastline, it becomes weaker due to the lack of warm water. In Australia, "Marcia" was soon downgraded to a category one storm, while "Lam" weakened after striking near Brisbane. Masses of water from the sea often cause the worst damage - as seen here in China after Typhoon Nanmadol in August 2011.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Chaos ensues
Hurricane Sandy was one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded over the Atlantic Ocean. It caused waves of up to 4 meters high, fires, power outages and broken dykes. Sandy arrived with winds at speeds of more than 145 kilometers per hour. Cuba, New York and New Jersey were particularly affected.
Image: Reuters
Destructive vortex
Tornadoes however, are non-tropical whirlwinds that can occur anywhere a storm is brewing. Local temperature differences force warm air upwards and cold air down, and a column of warm air rotates upwards at an increasing velocity. Tornadoes are usually only a maximum of 1 kilometer in diameter.
Fastest storms
As the warm air rises, it forms a funnel, the main characteristic of a tornado. Inside the funnel, the speed of the air can be tremendous - up to 500 kilometers per hour. Tornadoes are the fastest whirlwind type of weather phenomenon.
Image: Fotolia/Daniel Loretto
Trail of destruction
A tornado can leave a trail of destruction several kilometers long. In the US Midwest, tornadoes occur several hundred times a year, as dry, cold air from the north hits damp, warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. It's different in other countries - in Germany, for example, tornadoes occasionally occur along the coast.