A typhoon made a direct hit on a sprawling city in prosperous eastern China on Sunday after nearly a million villagers and farmers had been evacuated from flimsy coastal and hillside huts to safety. Typhoon Khanun, which spared the island of Taiwan on Saturday after forecasts predicted a near direct hit, made landfall in China's mountainous Zhejiang province, where storms regularly trigger fatal floods and landslides. The new city of Taizhou, with a population of over 5 million, took the full brunt, a city government official said, adding that those evacuated by the army had been taken to schools, railway stations, hotels and other solid buildings for protection. "Signboards have been blown down and definitely trees will be uprooted and houses damaged," the official said, adding that 330,000 people had been moved to safety in Taizhou alone. "It's too early to talk about damage to property." With its zigzag coastline, Taizhou is home to several ports, one being Taizhou Bay Haimen, with more than 10,000 tonnes of handling capacity. In nearby Leqing Bay is China's largest tidal power station. Xinhua news agency said Zhejiang had so far evacuated 814,267 people to safer places. About 35,400 ships and other vessels had returned to port.
