Typhoon Matmo Leaves 32k Customers w/o Electricity in Taiwan, Weakens After Landing in China
At least 32,000 people in Taiwan were left without power supply after typhoon Matmo pummeled the east Asian country. Matmo has likewise made landfall in China, the country's second weather disturbance within a week.
Matmo dumped some 600 millimetres of rain in the mountainous areas Taiwan. Still officials said the typhoon left no major damage on the island.
The typhoon made landfall in the eastern coastal counties of Taitung and Hualien at 12 midnight local time on Wednesday.
Government evacuated around 2,000 people from the mountains areas as a means of precaution. The Fujian province's flood control headquarters evacuated 300,000 people.
Schools and offices were likewise closed, while trading on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and foreign-exchange markets were also suspended.
Matmo's strong winds broke windows and toppled trees, disrupting the supply of electricity in the county of Hualien. At least 32,000 residents were affected by the power disruption.
Typhoon Matmo had gusts of 108 kilometres (67 miles) per hour and was moving at 20 kph (12 mph), according to the Taiwan weather agency.
At least one bridge got washed out.
Around 43 international going in and out of Taoyuan International Airport were cancelled on Wednesday morning. A number of domestic flights were likewise suspended.
Most rail services also suspended operations in the morning, but resumed in the afternoon.
By Wednesday afternoon, Matmo had reach inland over eastern China, dumping rain as a downgraded tropical storm.
#Typhoon #Matmo is making its final landfall SE of Fuzhou, China as a Cat. 1 equiv. cyclone (75 mph max winds). pic.twitter.com/r9cjDZDbqm
— Hurricane Central (@twc_hurricane) July 23, 2014
The Weather Channel forecast Matmo will continue to weaken over eastern China through Thursday. By Friday, it will just become a remnant low.
Just last week, Typhoon Rammasun battered China's southern regions, killing 56, with 20 others still missing.
With winds of up to 216 km/h, Rammasun was the strongest typhoon that hit China in 40 years, leaving 40,000 houses destroyed as well as 38 billion yuan ($6 billion) in economic losses.
Read: Typhoon Rammasun Claims 18 Lives in China, Incurs $4.32B Losses (PHOTOS)
