Dual typhoons lash coastal regions in East China

Typhoon Damrey, the 10th typhoon of the year, made landfall near Xiangshui county in East China's Jiangsu province around 9:30 pm Thursday.

The storm brought torrential rains to Jiangsu and southern Shandong province early Friday morning, local meteorological authorities said.

Strong winds and rainstorms from the typhoon have lashed the cities of Linyi, Rizhao, Qingdao and Weifang in Shandong, the National Commission for Disaster Reduction said in a report.

A tree is blown down in downtown district of Lianyungang city, East China's Jiangsu province, Aug 3, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

It also forced the relocation of 180,000 residents in the province, according to the report.

Authorities in Shandong had ordered more than 40,000 ships to return to harbor as of Friday morning, the provincial department of civil affairs said.

Twenty-nine flights were canceled at the Qingdao Liuting International Airport Thursday night. However, no flights were affected Friday morning, the airport said.

At least four trains on a railway between the cities of Yanzhou and Rizhao in Shandong were delayed as a result of the storm.

Damrey also forced the evacuation of 124,000 people in the cities of Lianyungang, Yancheng and Nantong in Jiangsu province, according to the National Commission for Disaster Reduction.

Shandong Yellow River water conservancy bureau said the severe rainstorms brought by Damrey have created challenges in terms of controlling flooding on the river's downstream reaches.

The lower reaches of the Yellow River have received three flood peaks over the course of this summer's flood season. Water levels in some large-and medium-sized reservoirs in Shandong have reached or exceeded warning levels.

A villager wades through a waterlogged road in Wangfen township of Qingzhou, East China's Shandong province, Aug 3, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

A rain-triggered mudslide has killed three people and left one missing in the city of Qingzhou in Shandong.

The National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Civil Affairs initiated a level four emergency response to the storms at 11 am Friday and sent teams to affected provinces to direct relief work.