Typhoon Muifa weakens, moves north along China's east coast

Aug 7, 2011, 9:53 GMT

Beijing - Typhoon Muifa weakened Sunday as it moved in a northerly direction along China's eastern coastline, but still forced the evacuation of more than 610,000 residents, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Packing winds of up to 178 kilometres per hour, Muifa was expected to make landfall Monday morning in Shandong province, the report said, citing the National Meteorological Centre.

Residents in Shanghai and the provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang and Shandong were evacuated, the report said, adding that 62,700 vessels were ordered to dock.

In Shandong, the weather bureau said the typhoon might further weaken and be categorized as a tropical storm by the time it hits the province.

Still, authorities were taking no chances and ordered about 20,000 fishing boats to drop anchor in harbour.

Some 18 flights either arriving or departing from Shandong's Qingdao airport were cancelled Sunday due to Muifa.

Muifa, originally a powerful typhoon, swirled into the East China Sea on Friday morning. Some worried it would be another Saomai, a super typhoon that smashed eastern China in 2006.

Saomai caused at least 460 deaths and forced the evacuation of over 1.5 million residents.