Rain hits northern China as typhoon rolls inland

Rain began to soak northern China on Saturday as Typhoon Doksuri, one of the strongest storms to hit the country in years, rolled toward Beijing after pummelling the Philippines and Taiwan, and lashing China's coast.

A broad area encompassing the capital faces a medium to high risk of rainstorm disasters over the coming three days, China's national forecaster said.

"Doksuri's intensity continues to weaken but the impact is far from over," the China Meteorological Administration said, warning the public to be vigilant and avoid high-risk areas in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region where localised rainfall could reach 600 mm (two feet). Beijing authorities suspended indoor and outdoor sports events and upgraded their flood control response.

Doksuri is the most powerful typhoon to hit China this year and the second-strongest to hit the southeastern province of Fujian since Typhoon Meranti in 2016. It forced the closure of schools and businesses and the evacuation of workers from offshore oil and gas fields, state media said. Moving northwest and deeper inland, the storm was centered on Jiujiang City in the southern province of Jiangxi and losing strength early on Saturday.

It was forecast to move into Anhui province, generating winds of 30 kph (20 miles per hour) as it weakens. The central province of Henan and Shandong in the east will experience heavy rainfall, the forecaster said, warning of mountain torrents, geological disasters and waterlogging.

Doksuri made landfall on Friday, downing power lines and uprooting trees, affecting more than 724,600 people and causing over $7.3 million in direct economic losses, media reported.

In Doksuri's wake in coastal Fujian, social media posts showed emergency workers clearing fallen trees and landslides, and people wading in thigh-high flood waters. Fuzhou City suspended metro services on Saturday morning as subway stations remained waterlogged. The city's observatory reported a record daily precipitation of 256.6 mm (10.10 inches).

Before hitting China, Doksuri roared through Taiwan and the northern Philippines, where rain and strong winds led to the capsize of a ferry in which at least 25 people died.

An overloaded passenger boat that capsized in a Philippine lake has killed 26 people, the coast guard said Friday, as the search continued for those still missing. The wooden outrigger was carrying about 70 people on its regular run from a port in Binangonan municipality to the island of Talim in Laguna Lake, near the capital Manila, on Thursday when the accident happened. Strong winds sparked panic among passengers who moved to one side of the vessel and caused it to capsize, the coast guard said.

The boat's maximum capacity was 42. People standing on the shore watched in horror as rescuers in boats searched for victims in the murky water. Video footage of the frantic rescue operation shared by the coast guard shows a man standing on the hull of the boat lying on its side, shouting, "There are so many people here", as small outrigger boats circled trying to help.

Forty people survived. Three are still missing based on official figures released Thursday. Coast Guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo told state television on Friday they were now conducting a "search and retrieval" operation. "We have deployed divers to check the bottom (of the boat) in case some people were trapped there," Balilo said.

The coast guard and police are investigating the cause of the accident, which happened hours after Typhoon Doksuri had swept out of the northern Philippines. "The captain said there were only 22 passengers but he later admitted under questioning by the coast guard that he let many more passengers on board," Balilo said. The spokesman said previously the vessel had permission to sail.

Boats had been ordered to shore in Luzon and central islands earlier in the week due to gale warnings as the typhoon intensified the southwest monsoon, resulting in thousands of people stranded at ports. By nightfall on Thursday, rescuers had righted the boat and dragged it close to shore, where its yellow hull sat in shallow water. People loaded victims' coffins onto boats during the evening to transport them to funeral ceremonies.

The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, has a poor maritime safety record, with scores dying in mishaps at sea each year, usually aboard wooden-hulled outriggers used for fishing or to move people from one small island to another.