Over 149,000 people in 17 townships of Wenchang City in south China's Hainan Province had been relocated after Super Typhoon Yagi raged through the city, said local officials at a press conference on Saturday.
The officials said that the typhoon had wreaked havoc in the city, with over 25,000 houses destroyed, nearly one-third of the roads becoming impassable due to fallen trees, 139 lines with 10 kV power disrupted and 792 communication base stations damaged.
"Since Friday evening, after emergency repairs, national roads, provincial roads and county roads have been basically opened to traffic, water supply in the main urban areas has been basically restored, and power and communications have been partially restored," said Wei Bo, deputy mayor of Wenchang.
Longlou Township in Wenchang City is one of the hardest-hit areas by Typhoon Yagi. Local electricity, fire and sanitation departments had been deployed on Saturday morning to clean up roads in an effort to restore people's normal life as soon as possible.
"We are cleaning up the main roads after the disaster. In some areas, there are water and power outages, so we need to delivery water soon," said Yan Nanpei, deputy team leader of Wenchang Fire Rescue Detachment.
The vegetable market in Longlou town also resumed operation on Saturday to ensure the basic living supply for the residents.
"They sell daily needs such as vegetables, meat and steamed buns," said a local resident.
As of 15:00 Saturday, Typhoon Yagi had affected 526,100 people across 19 cities and counties in Hainan Province, with 312,600 people relocated for safety and 76,000 people temporarily resettled.
Preliminary estimates indicate that the economic losses caused by Typhoon Yagi far exceed those by Super typhoon Rammasun, which made landfall in the same location in July 2014.
Over 149,000 people in Wenchang relocated as Typhoon Yagi lashes China's Hainan
Over 149,000 people in Wenchang relocated as Typhoon Yagi lashes China's Hainan
Over 149,000 people in Wenchang relocated as Typhoon Yagi lashes China's Hainan
