Hundreds of people were evacuated from the area of exposure severe storm in southern Taiwan and China. Super Typhoon Meranti struck Taiwan, causing the wind speed reached 230 mph (370 kph), faster than a racing car of Formula 1.

Schools and offices throughout the southern part of the island were closed and dozens of flights were canceled, according to the official Agency China. Two people were injured, and more than 260 thousand families were left homeless in the districts across southern Taiwan, authorities said. More than 370 domestic and international flights were cancelled and rail services were also suspended.

As of 7 a.m. local time Wednesday morning, about 1,500 people were evacuated from the affected areas, Li Wei-sen. Nearly 4 thousand military and police has been activated in the region for the training of potential future evacuations.

The main impact of the storm will have on the mainland. The storm, expected to fall on Guangdong province and Fujian during the day on Thursday. Authorities in six South-Eastern provinces and Shanghai initiated responses to emergencies, according to state news Agency Xinhua.

If the storm will hit the Eastern part of Guangdong province, it will be the strongest storm of the last 47 years, recorded in China. Meranti took 9 hours to grow from Typhoon to super Typhoon" told the news Agency Guangdong meteorologist Zhang Dong.
sections: Accidents, World News