Pingtan tackles aftermath of Typhoon Trami
( chinadaily.com.cn )
Updated: 2013-08-26
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This construction site in Fujian's Pingtan county was severely damaged by Typhoon Trami. |
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This photo shows flooded cropland in the aftermath of Typhoon Trami in Pingtan, east China's province of Fujian. |
Trami, the 12th typhoon to hit China this year, seriously impacted Pingtan county in Fujian province, after making landfall in the neighboring city of Fuqing on August 22.
Trami swept Pingtan head-on, bringing torrential rains and winds reaching force 12.
The local Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said on August 23 that a total of 230,800 people in 15 townships in Pingtan were affected, 14,300 were forced to evacuate and 71 houses were toppled, resulting in a direct economic losses of 145.7 million yuan ($23.8 million).
Pingtan's agriculture industry was severely affected, with 1,510 hectares of croplands and 81 hectares of aquaculture ponds damaged by the typhoon – and losses reaching nearly 100 million yuan.
Cao Chenying, former chairman of the Pingtan Abalone Association, said that Trami was the strongest typhoon to hit Pingtan in recent years, and more than 50 of Pingtan's 63 abalone farms - especially those in Aoqian and Liushui townships - suffered grave economic losses.
Yu Zhuying, a local farmer, was left shaken as many abalones at her farm were killed when the typhoon destroyed a generator and several sheds early Friday morning.
"I stayed up all night, but I couldn't do anything but watch the fish die," she said.
The typhoon also caused economic losses of 14.6 million yuan for the transportation industry, and 29.7 million yuan for water conservation facilities.
In one village alone - Kuaha of Beicuo township - more than 400 people were evacuated due to floods triggered by heavy rain. Many of the evacuees were workers at a local construction site where roofs were ripped off several prefabricated homes.
Edited by Chen Zhilin and Niva Whyman