At least eight people have been reported dead after a powerful typhoon lashed much of southeastern China and Taiwan.

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs on Friday updated the number of deaths to seven as a result of Typhoon Meranti, which struck Fujian province early Thursday. Nine people in China are still missing.

Taiwanese authorities reported that one person died in the storm.

According to Chinese officials, Meranti forced the relocation of 33 million people and destroyed 1,600 homes. Images shared by state news media showed power lines and destroyed vehicles downed on streets in the coastal city of Xiamen. Taiwanese media reported that parts of southern Taiwan remain flooded.

But even as the cleanup is underway there, another typhoon, Malakas, is expected to hit Taiwan late Friday and Saturday. </s> BEIJING (AP) — At least eight people have been reported dead after a powerful typhoon lashed much of southeastern China and Taiwan.



China's Ministry of Civil Affairs on Friday updated the number of deaths to seven as a result of Typhoon Meranti, which struck Fujian province early Thursday. Nine people in China are still missing.



Taiwanese authorities reported that one person died in the storm.



According to Chinese officials, Meranti forced the relocation of 33 million people and destroyed 1,600 homes. Images shared by state news media showed power lines and destroyed vehicles downed on streets in the coastal city of Xiamen. Taiwanese media reported that parts of southern Taiwan remain flooded.



But even as the cleanup is underway there, another typhoon, Malakas, is expected to hit Taiwan late Friday and Saturday. </s> BEIJING (AP) — At least eight people have been reported dead after a powerful typhoon lashed much of southeastern China and Taiwan.

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs on Friday updated the number of deaths to seven as a result of Typhoon Meranti, which struck Fujian province early Thursday. Nine people in China are still missing.

Taiwanese authorities reported that one person died in the storm.

According to Chinese officials, Meranti forced the relocation of 33 million people and destroyed 1,600 homes. Images shared by state news media showed power lines and destroyed vehicles downed on streets in the coastal city of Xiamen. Taiwanese media reported that parts of southern Taiwan remain flooded.

But even as the cleanup is underway there, another typhoon, Malakas, is expected to hit Taiwan late Friday and Saturday.

A man carries belongings away from a destroyed structure after a typhoon in Xiamen in southeastern China's Fujian province Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Typhoon Meranti, labeled the strongest storm so far this year by Chinese and Taiwanese weather authorities, made landfall in southeastern China early Thursday after previously affecting Taiwan. (Chinatopix via AP)

A man wearing a red helmet, left, climbs on the wreckage of a destroyed structure after a typhoon in Xiamen in southeastern China's Fujian province Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. Typhoon Meranti, labeled the strongest storm so far this year by Chinese and Taiwanese weather authorities, made landfall in southeastern China early Thursday after previously affecting Taiwan. (Chinatopix via AP) </s> Typhoon kills at least 11 in China and Taiwan; another on the way

SHANGHAI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The world's strongest storm this year killed at last 10 people in China when it hit the southeast coast, the government said on Friday, as rescuers scoured flooded streets and work crews struggled to restore power to more than a million homes.

Typhoon Meranti had largely dissipated by Friday afternoon, a day after it swept in from the Pacific Ocean, clipping the southern tip of Taiwan, and making landfall near the Chinese port city of Xiamen, in Fujian province.

The storm killed seven people in Fujian and three in neighbouring Zhejiang province, state media and the government said. Eleven people were missing.

More than 330,000 people were returning to their homes on Friday after being forced to flee a storm that meteorologists said was the world's biggest this year.

The typhoon killed one person and injured 38 on Taiwan where people were on Friday preparing for another, Typhoon Malakas, which was forecast to bring heavy rain on Saturday.

The Taiwan weather bureau issued land and sea warnings, urging people to be on alert for severe weather and flooding.

Meranti was the strongest typhoon to hit that part of China's coast since 1949, the Xinhua state news agency said.

Pictures on state media showed flooded streets, fallen trees and crushed cars in Xiamen.

Three power transmission towers were blown down in the city and utility crews were trying to restore power. Across Fujian, 1.65 million homes had no electricity, Xinhua reported.

Dozens of flights and train services were cancelled on Thursday, disrupting travel at the beginning of a three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

Typhoons are common at this time of year, picking up strength as they cross the warm waters of the Pacific and bringing fierce winds and rain when they hit land. (Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Robert Birsel) </s> Typhoon Meranti had largely dissipated by Friday afternoon, a day after it swept in from the Pacific Ocean, clipping the southern tip of Taiwan, and making landfall near the Chinese port city of Xiamen, in Fujian province.

The storm killed seven people in Fujian and three in neighboring Zhejiang province, state media and the government said. Eleven people were missing.

More than 330,000 people were returning to their homes on Friday after being forced to flee a storm that meteorologists said was the world's biggest this year.

The typhoon killed one person and injured 38 on Taiwan where people were on Friday preparing for another, Typhoon Malakas, which was forecast to bring heavy rain on Saturday.

The Taiwan weather bureau issued land and sea warnings, urging people to be on alert for severe weather and flooding.

Meranti was the strongest typhoon to hit that part of China's coast since 1949, the Xinhua state news agency said.

Pictures on state media showed flooded streets, fallen trees and crushed cars in Xiamen.

Three power transmission towers were blown down in the city and utility crews were trying to restore power. Across Fujian, 1.65 million homes had no electricity, Xinhua reported.

Dozens of flights and train services were canceled on Thursday, disrupting travel at the beginning of a three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

Typhoons are common at this time of year, picking up strength as they cross the warm waters of the Pacific and bringing fierce winds and rain when they hit land. </s> BEIJING—At least eight people have been reported dead after a powerful typhoon lashed parts of southeastern China and Taiwan.

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs on Friday updated the number of deaths to seven as a result of Typhoon Meranti, which struck Fujian province early Thursday. Nine people in China are still missing.

Taiwanese authorities... </s> The third typhoon to hit Taiwan this month killed at least four people and injured hundreds on Tuesday, knocking down trees and cutting power to millions.

 Most schools and offices were shut and the north-south bullet train suspended services as Typhoon Megi, packing winds of well over 160 kph (100 mph), roared in from the Pacific.

 At least 167 people were injured and more than 11,500 evacuated, the government’s Central Emergency Operation Centre said. Authorities also estimated more than two million households had lost power, while over 45,000 were without water.

 Taiwan’s financial markets were closed because of the storm.

 Television footage showed people scurrying along city streets clutching umbrellas to try to fend off the rain.

 Bus and subway services were mostly suspended in the capital, Taipei, while hundreds of international flights were cancelled.

 The typhoon was moving across Taiwan and expected to head into the Taiwan Strait and on towards China on Wednesday where it will make landfall in the southeastern province of Fujian.

 China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs said it had ordered authorities across a large swathe of southern and eastern China to step up disaster prevention preparations.

 This month, super Typhoon Meranti killed at least 28 people in China and Taiwan and cut power to more than a million homes.

 Typhoons are common in the region at this time of year, picking up strength as they cross warm Pacific waters and bringing fierce wind and rain when they reach land. </s> Typhoon Meranti has slammed into southeastern China bringing flooded streets, crushed cars and forcing people to evacuate in boats.

The storm, registered as a super typhoon before losing strength after sweeping southern Taiwan, made landfall in the early hours of Thursday near the major city of Xiamen.

Large sections of Xiamen had power supplies cut off, while parts of the city suffered water supply disruptions and some windows on tall buildings shattered.

Meranti is the strongest typhoon to hit that part of the country since the founding of Communist China in 1949 and the strongest so far this year anywhere in the world.

Dozens of flights and train services have been cancelled, state television added, disrupting travel at the start of the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

Tens of thousands of people had already been evacuated as the storm approached and fishing boats called back to port.

One person died and 38 were injured in Taiwan, the Central Emergency Operation Centre said, as the typhoon hit the southern part of the island on Wednesday.

Meranti was a Category 5 typhoon, the strongest classification awarded by Tropical Storm Risk storm tracker, before it made landfall on the mainland and has since been downgraded to Category 2.

Typhoons are common at this time of year, picking up strength as they cross the warm waters of the Pacific and bringing fierce winds and rain when they hit land.

Meranti will continue to lose strength as it pushes inland and up towards China's commercial capital of Shanghai, but will bring heavy rain.

Meranti is the strongest typhoon since Typhoon Haiayan which devastated the Philippines in 2013.

Haiyan killed at least 6,300 people and further affected an estimated 11million.
• Summer's over as thunder, lightning storms and torrential rain hit Britain after record-breaking temperatures </s> A powerful typhoon swept into southeastern China on Thursday after hitting Taiwan, leaving a total of two dead and dozens injured.

Weather officials in both China and Taiwan said Typhoon Meranti was the strongest storm of its kind this year. Chinese state media reported one death and one person missing, as high winds and rain shattered windows on tall buildings, knocked down trees and disrupted water supplies in China's Fujian province, causing a widespread blackout in the coastal city of Xiamen.

In Taiwan, the Central News Agency reported one person was killed and 44 were injured on the island by the storm. It said Meranti knocked out power in almost 1 million homes and water in more than 700,000.

More than 140 trains heading into southeastern China were cancelled. An 800-year-old bridge in Fujian province was one casualty of the storm; state media released video of a rapidly flowing river pushing against the bridge until it fell in.

Another video posted online shows a large, moon-shaped balloon bouncing between cars on a roadway. The balloon was an apparent decoration for Thursday's start of the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival in both mainland China and Taiwan.

Chinese meteorologists downgraded Meranti from a super typhoon to a tropical depression on Thursday afternoon and said they expect it to fade further as it moves north.

Dozens of flights and train services have been cancelled, state television said, inconveniencing people at the start of the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

Xinhua news agency said it was the strongest typhoon to hit that part of the country since the founding of Communist China in 1949 and the strongest so far this year anywhere in the world.

Tens of thousands of people had already been evacuated as the storm approached and fishing boats called back to port.

One person died and 38 were injured in Taiwan, the Central Emergency Operation Centre said, as the typhoon hit the southern part of the island on Wednesday night.

Meranti was a Category 5 typhoon, the strongest classification awarded by Tropical Storm Risk storm tracker, before it made landfall on the mainland and has since been downgraded to Category 2.

Meranti, which grew in strength the closer it got to Taiwan on Wednesday night, was carrying maximum winds of 227kmh as it clipped the south of the island, the weather bureau said.

"This typhoon is the world's strongest so far this year," weather bureau spokeswoman Hsieh Pei-yun said.

Taiwan's Central Emergency Operation Centre said many power lines were brought down, some by falling trees, cutting electricity to 550,000 households.

"The damage from Meranti will continue to rise as the storm slams the island," said emergency centre spokesman Li Wei-sen.

Trains and shipping services were disrupted, while offices and schools in Kaohsiung and other cities were closed and almost 1500 people were evacuated, the centre said.

Typhoons are common at this time of year, picking up strength as they cross the warm waters of the Pacific and bringing fierce winds and rain when they hit land.

Meranti will continue to lose strength as it pushes inland and up towards China's commercial capital of Shanghai, but will bring heavy rain.

Taiwan will feel the full force of the typhoon through Wednesday and into Thursday before it barrels into China, meteorologists said.

China's National Marine Environment Forecasting Centre has issued its highest red alert as the storm approaches the country's eastern coast.

The typhoon will first make landfall in Fujian and Canton on Thursday and authorities have launched an emergency response programme and ordered all ships to return to port and residents to remain indoors.

The authorities have also ordered embankments of dams to be reinforced to prevent overflows.

Meranti comes just over two months after the deadly typhoon Nepartak cut power, grounded flights and forced thousands to flee their homes across central and southern areas of Taiwan.

In 2009, Typhoon Morakot cut a swath of destruction through southern Taiwan, killing about 700 people and causing up to US$3 billion of damage.
Typhoon Meranti hits mainland China and Taiwan killing at least eight people and destroying 1,600 houses.