Typhoon cuts off province ( 2003-11-18 23:41) (China Daily)
More than 1,000 cars were
yesterday stranded in Haikou, capital of China's southernmost province of
Hainan, as typhoon Nepartak showed no sign of abating.
They are waiting to head back to the mainland via ferries.
"The typhoon is sweeping northward at 10 kilometres per hour and we have seen
nothing to suggest it will ease up,'' Li Yifei, a senior engineer with the
Hainan Provincial Meteorological Bureau, said yesterday.
"We think its influence in the city will hang around for some time.''
An anonymous official at Haikou Harbour refuted earlier reports that ferry
operations would return to normal this morning. She said no "clear-cut'' order
has been given for the resumption of services.
And no passengers are able to use ferries to commute between the island and
mainland, the official said.
According to Li, the lives of almost all of the people in the city, as well
as in the province's other cities of Sanya and Dongfang, have been disrupted by
the typhoon as it dumps torrential rain and whips up devastatingly strong winds.
"Most people have had to stay at home as moving around is inconvenient and
dangerous,,'' said Li.
Nepartak's influence reached the island province on Sunday night. Although
typhoons are normal for the area this time of year, Nepartak has caused
excessive damage.
"Hainan has been hit by torrential rain from tropical cyclones since the end
of October, in addition to the rare strong cold currents that moved through at
the end of September,'' said Li. "It is giving local farmers a hard time.''
No official statistics regarding direct losses from the typhoon are available
as yet.
Among the few Hainan people celebrating are those selling winter clothing.
A Xinhua report says the turnovers of major clothes wholesalers in Haikou
have seen obvious increases due to the slump in temperature.
