Over 6m people affected by typhoon Fitow in China

As a result of the typhoon Fitow in Zhejiang province (eastern China) 6.3 million people were affected, six people died and four went missing, according to reports from the service of flood and drought control. Direct economic losses caused to this rich province amounts to RMB8.37 billion ($1.36 billion). Many roads have been damaged and power supply has been interrupted in the wider region, according to Xinhua news agency. As a result of torrential rains brought by the typhoon, the water level in 13 large and 39 medium-sized reservoirs exceeds the maximum level, posing a risk of breaking dams and flooding. Meanwhile, the coastal provinces of China expect the approach of Danas, the 24th typhoon this year, and therefore an ‘orange’ level of hazard has been declared in the coastal areas. Over the next three days, this typhoon will continue to shift to the north and north-east. China has adopted a four-level alert system for natural disasters, in which the degree of increasing hazard is identified as blue, yellow, orange and red.