In this Aug. 9, 2019, photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a man uses his mobile phone to record waves crashing on the shore as typhoon Lekima approaches the Shitang Township of Wenling City in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province. Typhoon Lekima stuck the coast south of Shanghai, knocking down houses and trees. (Han Chuanhao/Xinhua via AP)
BEIJING — At least 18 people were killed Saturday after Typhoon Lekima struck China’s coast south of Shanghai, knocking down houses and trees, state TV reported.
Another 14 people were missing after Lekima hit land at 1:45 a.m. on Saturday in Zhejiang province, the report said. It said more than 200 houses collapsed and 3,200 were damaged.
The deaths occurred in Yongjia County on the outskirts of Wenzhou, a major port city, state TV reported. It said a river that was blocked by a landslide rose 10 meters (30 feet) and then broke through the debris, flooding homes.
More than 1 million people were evacuated before the storm struck, the official Xinhua News Agency said. That included 253,000 in Shanghai.
Shanghai Disneyland closed due to the storm.
State TV said 3,023 airline flights in Shanghai, Hangzhou and other cities and some train services were canceled. Authorities in Shanghai also shut down the high-speed magnetic levitation train to Pudong International Airport. /jpv