Typhoon Matsa leaves a trail of destruction as it dies on the Chinese coastline. by Everton Fox
Typhoon Matsa fizzled out and died today but not before causing a lot damage and destruction in Taiwan and China.
The storm was born in the Philippine Sea and soon gathered strength by drawing in energy from the warm sea waters. It quickly gained enough strength to be named a ‘Typhoon’, as defined by wind speeds of over 39mph (61km/h), and slowly edged northwest towards Taiwan.
Although centred just to the east of Taiwan, Matsa still packed enough punch bring torrential rain and strong winds to the northern half of the island. Flooding and damage were inevitable and as the storm moved away the Taiwanese were left to survey the destruction.
The storm destroyed 812 acres of fields and orchards, hitting the Banana plantations worst and causing an estimated £645,000 worth of damage. More than 55,000 homes were left without power and many bridges and roads were swept away.
Taipei recorded 256mm (over 10 inches) of rainfall in just over a day, which is almost a whole month's worth, so it is no wonder many low-lying areas were flooded in the capital city.
Masta then continued its journey north, gaining more energy in the Taiwan Strait, and reached the east coast of China early on Saturday morning. As it made landfall on the Zhejiang coast, 1.2 million people were evacuated to safety just before huge waves crashed onto the shore and gales force winds uprooted trees and knocked down houses. One person lost their life in the storm.
Linhai, Zhejiang recorded 157 mm in just one day, well over the monthly average, which caused widespread flooding in the region.
Without the influence of the warm sea, Matsa started to slowly lose power as it moved further north along the Chinese coastline, and was downgraded to a tropical storm (winds less that 39 mph), but still the reports of destruction came sweeping in.
Next on the hit list was Shanghai. The storm brought 6 hours of heavy rain and strong winds to the financial capital and the surrounding province of Anhui. All domestic airlines were grounded as airports were forced to close throughout the region. Debris and flooding clogged the streets as the residents desperately tried to save their possessions in waist-deep waters.
Now, Mastsa is no more. Finally the storm has exhausted its energy and dissipated into the void. However, despite the storm warnings being lifted, heavy rain is still expected along the coastline and as far north as Beijing.
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