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Typhoon Krosa lashes Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan - A typhoon lashed Taiwan Saturday with intense winds and rains, killing four people and cutting power to thousands of homes. But the storm weakened as it moved toward China, where authorities ordered hundreds of thousands to higher ground.

Two men were still missing in Taiwan, the Disaster Relief Center said.

Typhoon Krosa was forecast to strike China's southern Zhejiang and northern Fujian provinces late today, China's national flood control office said in a notice on its Web site.

The typhoon was centered at sea about 80 miles northwest of Keelung on the northern tip of Taiwan. It weakened to a tropical storm with sustained winds of 66 mph, down from 114 mph, the Central Weather Bureau said.

At its peak, Krosa caused a massive power cut blacking out about 2-million homes in Taiwan. But electricity was later restored.

Cathay Pacific Airways canceled flights from Taipei to Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. Dragon Airlines also canceled flights between Taiwan and Hong Kong.

In China, more than 500,000 tourists were evacuated from the southeast coast, the Xinhua News Agency said. Fishing boats were ordered back into port, and tourist activities were canceled in Zhejiang. Authorities in Zhejiang evacuated 837,000 people and recalled more than 32,000 vessels, Xinhua said.

[Last modified October 7, 2007, 01:53:00]