Beijing: Southern China braced for torrential rain and lashing winds yesterday as Typhoon Conson crept toward land after killing 38 people and leaving a trail of destruction in the Philippines.
Conson had been downgraded to a tropical storm after blowing out of the Philippines but strengthened again into a typhoon late Thursday with winds of 120km/h, China's National Meteorological Centre said. It was expected to make landfall on Hainan island yesterday afternoon or evening.
In addition to Hainan, parts of Guangdong province and neighbouring Guangxi region will see torrential rains over the next 24 hours as Conson moves toward the northwest at 15 to 20 km/h.
The typhoon killed at least 38 people in the Philippines, but emergency crews restored electricity to Manila and nearby provinces on Luzon island on Thursday as normality crept back. Authorities continued the search for 47 missing people. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, in a nationally televised emergency meeting, scolded the weather bureau for failing to predict Conson would hit Manila.
On Thursday, the navy, coast guard and policemen recovered the bodies of 14 fishermen at Bataan province, west of Manila. Nine died when a wayward oil barge slammed into their boats, which were moored near Mariveles town, the coast guard said. The bodies of five other fishermen were found at sea off Bataan, where their boats sank.
In Japan, police said landslides caused by heavy rains killed two people in Hiroshima while another was swept away in a river.
The typhoon killed at least 38 people in the Philippines, but emergency crews restored electricity to Manila and nearby provinces on Luzon island on Thursday as normalcy crept back. Authorities continued the search for 47 missing people and started to repair the damage caused by the year's first major typhoon.
