BEIJING (Reuters) - Typhoon Gaemi pummelled towns on China's coastal Fujian province on Friday with heavy rains and strong winds as the most powerful storm to hit the country this year began its widely watched trek into the populous interior.
The storm has affected almost 630,000 people in China's Fujian so far, with almost half of them having to be relocated, Xinhua news agency reported. Earlier this week, it killed dozens of people as it swept through Taiwan and worsened seasonal rains in the Philippines.
Gaemi was packing winds of up to 100.8 kph (62.6 mph) near its centre, easing slightly from 118.8 kph logged on Thursday night when it landed in the Fujian city of Putian.
While Gaemi has been downgraded to a tropical storm because of slower wind speeds, its vast cloud-bands remain a significant flood risk, particularly to rivers in central China already elevated due to summer rains.
Hours ahead of the typhoon's arrival, the Standing Committee of the Communist Party's politburo, helmed by President Xi Jinping, held a special meeting on flood control and urged cadres across the country to protect lives.
Efforts must be made to prevent breaches of major rivers and the collapse of large and key medium-sized reservoirs, Xinhua quoted a readout of the meeting as saying.
Due to the typhoon, 72 townships across Fujian recorded accumulated precipitation exceeding 250 mm (9.8 inches), with the highest reaching 512.8 mm, local weather bureaus said.
By late Friday, Gaemi is expected to reach Jiangxi province, home to China's largest freshwater lake, Poyang.
Forecasters warned as many as 10 provinces could be affected, including Henan, a province with a population of over 100 million in central China.
Henan's meteorological bureau expects Gaemi to start ushering in rains on Friday night.
Into next week, Gaemi's impact is expected as far north as the provinces of Jilin and Liaoning, both of which are still grappling with overflowing rivers and waterlogged cities following a powerful cluster of summer storms a few days ago.
Scientists have warned that global warming is worsening tropical storms, making them less frequent but much more intense, according to a report published on Friday.
On Thursday, Gaemi flooded several Taiwanese cities and towns, injuring more than 700 people and killing seven as well as sinking a freighter off the island's coast.
Rescuers pulled nearly 1,000 people out of floodwater in inflatable boats, the Taiwan government said.
In the Philippines, the storm killed 32 people, with the capital Manila declaring a "state of calamity" after widespread flooding. A marine tanker carrying industrial fuel also sank in rough seas off the Philippines.