Officials in China and Taiwan report that at least 28 people have been confirmed dead as a result of Typhoon Soudelor. The death toll has been steadily rising since the storm roared through Taiwan into mainland China.
Taiwanese officials say that six people are confirmed dead including a mother and her twin daughters who were swept out to sea. At least 379 people were injured by the storm and over four million homes were without power, a record for most homes without power at one time.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported the storm’s heavy rains caused mudslides which buried homes in the Wenzhou and Lishui areas.
Some areas reported 27 inches of rain in a 24 hour period, the most for that area in over 120 years according to state media.
Damage to crops from the storm is estimated at $644 million with overall damage estimated at $1.43 billion.
The western Pacific has experienced ten typhoons this year.
Forecasters are reporting the Typhoon Soudelor, which has weakened from earlier this week when it became the strongest storm of the year, could strike Taiwan head-on with the same level of force as 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.
“It is barreling down on Taiwan and winds will strengthen to around 130 mph by the time it hits at some point [Friday] afternoon U.S. time,” Weather Channel forecaster Michael Palmer told NBC. “There will undoubtedly be some significant damage, there will be some massive waves and flash flooding.”
The storm is tracking over the center of the country and about 7 million people in capital city Taipei’s metropolitan area could be impacted by the storm.
The storm has already killed one person. An 8-year-old girl was confirmed dead after being swept out to sea according to Taiwan’s National Fire Agency. Another child is missing and feared dead in the incident that was survived by a 38-year-old woman and another child.
Taiwanese authorities forced the evacuations of over 600 residents along coastal areas. Flights to the island have been cancelled and all schools and public offices and facilities will be closed.
The storm is drawing comparisons to 2009’s Typhoon Morakot that killed 700 people and caused over $3 billion in damage.
Chinese officials have started evacuations from the coastal province of Fujian where the storm is expected to hit after crossing over Taiwan.