China Issues Highest Typhoon Alert as Meranti Makes Landfall

(Bloomberg) -- China issued the highest storm warning as typhoon Meranti made landfall in the city of Xiamen, after leaving one dead and 38 injured in Taiwan.

The country’s meteorological administration warned of heavy rains as the storm made landfall at 3:05 a.m. local time on Thursday. Provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangsu are affected. Typhoon Meranti is expected to weaken further as it moves inland. Financial markets in China are shut for the rest of the week for the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

Earlier in Taiwan, Typhoon Meranti left one dead and 38 injured, with 6,477 people evacuated and more than 1 million households losing power. Four international flights and 90 domestic ones were canceled Thursday. Taiwan’s markets are also closed for holiday.

The island’s petrochemical industry lost as much as NT$100 million ($3.2 million) as factories suspended production due to power outage, Taipei-based Economic Daily News reported Thursday, without saying where it got the information.

Another storm is heading toward Taiwan. Typhoon Malakas may hit the island on Saturday, Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau and Central Emergency Operation Center said, adding a sea warning will be issued as early as tonight.

To contact the reporter on this story: Miaojung Lin in Taipei at mlin179@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fion Li at fli59@bloomberg.net, Sam Nagarajan