20 July 2005 China typhoon causes mass evacuation
A predicted typhoon has led to the mass evacuation of around 600,000 people living in the coastal areas of China.
Typhoon Haitang has already hit Taiwan, causing widespread damage to the island and authorities believe it may have killed up to ten people in the region.
The country's weather bureau predicts that the typhoon led to winds of around 144 km per hour (89 mph) and is on course to hit the south-eastern region of China.
However, there are signs that Haitang may be blowing itself out and could be downgraded to a tropical storm over the coming hours, which will be welcome news to tourists.
All the same, Chinese authorities have ordered that 17,000 fishing and merchant ships return to port in the Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, while a further 600,000 are being evacuated from residences that are along the storm's predicted course.
Typhoon Haitang is the first of many typhoons likely to arrive in East Asia as the summer storm season begins in the region.
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