Over 620,000 affected by Typhoon Gaemi in east China province

Huge waves lash the shore in Sansha Township of Xiapu County, east China's Fujian Province, July 25, 2024. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)

FUZHOU, July 26 (Xinhua) -- As of 6 a.m. Friday, about 628,600 people in east China's Fujian Province had been affected by Typhoon Gaemi, the third typhoon of this year, with some 290,000 residents relocated so far, said local authorities.

With a maximum wind speed of 118.8 km per hour at its center, the typhoon made its second landfall in the country on Thursday evening, at Xiuyu District in the city of Putian, Fujian. At 6 a.m. Friday, its center was located within Youxi County, the city of Sanming, packing winds of up to 100.8 km per hour near the center.

The typhoon is projected to move northwest at a speed of about 20 km per hour, with gradually weakening force, and is expected to reach Jiangxi Province around late Friday afternoon.

Affected by the typhoon, from 6 a.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Friday, 72 townships in 15 county-level areas across Fujian recorded an accumulated precipitation of more than 250 millimeters, and 12 townships in nine county-level areas saw an accumulated precipitation of over 400 millimeters, with the highest reaching 512.8 millimeters, according to local meteorological authorities.

Gaemi made its first landfall at around midnight Thursday in eastern Taiwan's Yilan County, leaving two dead and 201 injured, local authorities said.