1st LD-Writethru: Typhoon Meranti lands in east China

Typhoon Meranti made landfall in Xiang'an district of Xiamen City, east China's Fujian Province, at 3:05 a.m. Thursday, with gales up to 48 meters per second.

The world's strongest typhoon so far this year has also been monitored as the strongest one hitting southern Fujian Province since the local meteorological records were kept in 1949.

The winds shattered windows on high buildings, causing disruption of tap water supplies in many communities in Xiamen.

"The winds and rain got extremely loud after 3 a.m. The cracking sound of windows and tree branches were also scary. The power went out in the shop for several times," said Su Binglin, a night-shift shop assistant at a 24-hour convenient store.

He said he had to use a metal plate to strengthen the shop door to prevent it from shattering. He also used boxes filled with mineral water to consolidate the plate.

At around 6 a.m., the winds abated. Streets in Xiamen are scattered with glass shards, broken tree branches and blown down billboards.

"It is so wretched. Many trees by road sides are fallen, and there are also pondings blocking traffic," said Hu Rong, a delivery man.

The Xiamen Power Supply Co. said that the typhoon has made severe damages to the power grid in Xiamen, causing mass blackout. The electricity supply was also disrupted in Xiamen's outlying islands. As the typhoon is further plowing inland, more damages of the power network are likely.

Thursday coincided with China's Mid-Autumn Festival, which gives a three-day public holiday. Schools and kindergartens in coastal cities of Fuzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Putian in Fujian were closed Wednesday in precaution against the typhoon.

The railway authorities in Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, announced Wednesday to cancel 144 trains that had been scheduled between Wednesday to Saturday to southern and eastern cities in an emergent response to the typhoon. Endi