China has prepared for the imminent landfall of Typhoon Doksuri, as its national observatory renewed its most severe weather alert after overnight heavy rainfall in the country’s southwest.
According to a state media report, three coastal cities in Fujian province shut schools, businesses and factories on Thursday, while flood control authorities in one of them, Xiamen, warned of a “serious impact”.
In the Philippines, at least eight people died as the typhoon savaged the region with strong winds and heavy rains.
On Thursday, more than 20 people were confirmed dead in the country after a passenger boat capsized.
The MBCA Princess Aya was just 45 metres from the shore of Binangonan town in Rizal province, east of Manila, when it was pummelled on its way to Talim Island by a gust of wind, causing the passengers to panic.
“They went to the port side of the motor banca, causing the boat to tilt and capsize,” coastguard spokesman Rear Admiral Armand Balilo told a Manila radio station.
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