Typhoon Matmo, the 10th typhoon to hit China's coast this year, struck Fujian province on Wednesday after slamming Taiwan with heavy downpours and leaving 10 injured on the island.

Matmo made landfall at 3:30 pm in the city of Fuqing with wind gusts reaching as high as 108 km an hour, according to the National Meteorological Center. Powerful winds and torrential downpours battered Fuzhou, Ningde, Quanzhou and Putian.

Lin Jinsong, a taxi driver in Fuzhou, said steering his cab was like "driving a boat" as he passed through Fufei Road in a heavily flooded area.

"I would like to give myself a break today and stay at home as the winds are so awful that trees are being knocked down in the streets," Lin said.

An employee of a restaurant in Fuzhou surnamed Zhang said a lot of customers asked for takeouts.

"But I gave up delivering the dishes after I got drenched in the rain, despite wearing a raincoat. Bursts of powerful wind made it hard to breathe," Zhang said.

The Fujian provincial department of ocean and fisheries said on Wednesday that as of 9 pm on Tuesday, 30,470 fishing boats had been ordered to return to port and more than 150,000 people had been evacuated as the typhoon approached.

Related

• China braces for Typhoon Matmo
• Tourists evacuated as typhoon Matmo approaches E China
• Typhoon Matmo sweeps across Taiwan
• China on alert for typhoon Matmo

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)