Typhoon drenches flood-hit China

Typhoon In-Fa uprooted trees and drenched communities in knee-deep water in parts of eastern China, but there were no reports of major damage as it made landfall yesterday. 

Sea, air and rail traffic had been shut down across a swathe of the coast centered on the major shipping port of Ningbo, where the weakening typhoon rumbled ashore around midday packing winds of up to 38 metres per second, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

Response teams in Ningbo cleared away fallen trees in the city centre, while residents in some neighbourhoods waded through floodwaters and merchants piled up sandbags in front of their businesses to keep out water.

The typhoon hit as the central province of Henan was still cleaning up after torrential downpours dumped a year's worth of rain in just three days last week. Government officials yesterday added another five dead to the toll from the freak flooding in Henan, raising the total to 63.

In-Fa's effects were also felt in the metropolis of Shanghai, China's largest city, with strong gusts of wind and steady but not heavy rainfall. All inbound and outbound flights were cancelled yesterday for the city's two international airports, as were dozens of scheduled trains, while activity at the ports of Shanghai and Ningbo -- two of the world's largest -- was also shut down.

The meteorological administration said that after landfall In-Fa would weaken but continue to hover over a wide expanse of eastern China for days, ringing itself out and bringing heavy rainfall.