Evacuations underway for Typhoon Ewiniar

HANGZHOU, July 8 (Xinhua) -- More than 7,600 people have been evacuated from their homes near the city of Ningbo in coastal province of Zhejiang as Typhoon Ewiniar remains hundreds of kilometers offshore. By 6 p.m. Saturday, 7,634 people have been moved to school rooms or temporary shelters in Ningbo, a coastal city of Zhejiang, said the provincial flood control headquarters Saturday. Evacuations are also under way in other coastal cities of the province, including Taizhou, Zhoushan and Wenzhou, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters. Xinhua reporters were unable to obtain the numbers of people affected by these evacuations. More than 8,000 ships have returned to harbors in Ningbo and coastal Zhoushan City, said the headquarters. The eye of Typhoon Ewiniar was about 780 km southeast of Dinghai, an isle of the Zhoushan Archipelago in the East China Sea, at 2 p.m. Saturday, said the Zhejiang Provincial Meteorological Observatory. The storm is tracking in a north-northwest direction at 10 to 15 km per hour, packing winds of about 162 km an hour, and is expected to approach the offshore areas of Zhejiang Saturday night, according to the provincial observatory. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-07/09/content_4809066.htm