Powerful Typhoon on Course to Hit Eastern China

(MENAFN- QNA) A powerful typhoon accompanied by heavy downpours and strong winds was approaching the eastern coast of China Friday after passing through southern Japan.

China's National Meteorological Center issued a red alert, the highest, on Friday morning for Typhoon Chan-Hom ahead of its expected landfall in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces during the night.

In Zhejiang, more than 10,000 people were evacuated and 10,000 fishing vessels returned to harbour as authorities prepared for the storm, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

20 people were injured on Miyako and Okinawa islands as the typhoon passed through, the Okinawa Times newspaper reported.Winds were building in north-eastern Taiwan in the afternoon due to the typhoon. Financial markets were shut and some businesses and schools in the region closed, although the island was expected to avoid the worst effects of the storm, local media reported.