Tropical Storm Bilis takes its final steps by Sean Batty
Tropical storm Bilis has over the last few days ravaged the Philippines, Taiwan and is now pummelling its way into China, but rapidly decreasing in strength.
The Taiwanese Central Weather Bureau has kept in place its sea warning as Bilis pushed into China. The rough seas have meant that over 40,000 fishing boats had to return to the Chinese shores, until the worst passed.
Taiwan was hit on Thursday, where one man died in Taipei after being struck by lightning and two others have gone missing after their fishing boat ran aground off Taiwan’s Matsu Island.
Bilis has caused numerous landslides on the mountainous island of Taiwan and the countries Weather Bureau have warned that heavy rains over the next few days may bring more
The death toll from Bilis now stands at 14 with 7 still missing in the northern Philippines after it hit the area on Wednesday.
The Chinese government evacuated over quarter of a million people from the southern province of Fujian last night in preparation for the storms arrival.
People were also evacuated from the Zhejiang province of China on Thursday as rising floodwaters became a concern after the city of Wenzhou recorded 184mm (7 inches) of rain falling over a few hours.
There have not been any immediate reports of injuries or damage from the storm across China yet.
The storm is set to decrease rapidly in strength as it moves further inland today.
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