Typhoon Fanapi Trenches Southern China & Taiwan

Typhoon Fanapi has left a path of devastation in Taiwan. Parts of the island received as much as three feet of rain. And now, southern China is being drenched by the heavy rains.<br /><br />Hundreds continue to evacuate from mountainous and flooded areas of Taiwan on Tuesday, after typhoon Fanapi is blamed for at least two deaths and more than a hundred injuries.<br /><br />Typhoon Fanapi reached wind speeds of up to 100 miles an hour over the weekend and dropped more than seven inches of rain in most areas.<br /><br />Areas around Kaohsiung county and Pingtung County received up to three feet at one point.<br /><br />According to the Department of Civil Affairs, more than 16,000 residents living in dangerous areas were relocated starting Friday.<br /><br />As of Tuesday morning, the National Fire Department reported two deaths and more than one hundred injuries, mostly in Hualien County.<br /><br />According to the report, heavy winds and rainfall caused the temporary closure of more than 25 federal or provincial roads and 28 bridges.<br /><br />Most of the affected roads and bridges reopened for service on Tuesday morning.<br /><br />Fanapi was the strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan this year, causing even heavier flooding to parts in southern Taiwan than last year's typhoon Morakot.<br /><br />On Sunday, Fanapi made landfall on the coast of China's Fujian Province.<br /><br />The storm has also hit cities in Guangxi Province, with many areas being drenched with heavy rain, with more expected in the coming days.<br /><br />Railway service and flights to and from Xiamen City have been suspended, causing many problems for travels ahead of China's Mid-Autumn festival.<br /><br />Typhoons regularly hit China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan in the second half of the year, gathering strength from the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean or South China Sea before weakening over land.