Deadly storms in East Asia

Summary
10 August 2009

Two typhoons have left many dead or missing in East Asia. In Japan at least nine people have been killed and some are missing. In China at least one child has been killed, while in Taiwan 12 people have died.

Reporter:
Chris Hogg


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REPORT

China moved almost a million people from its coastal provinces to safer areas before Typhoon Morakat hit the mainland on Sunday. Heavy rain triggered landslides and caused several hundred houses to collapse, but the effects weren't as bad as might have been feared, after the damage it had wreaked elsewhere.

The storm had caused the worst flooding in 50 years in Taiwan. They're still working there to free thousands of people who remain trapped, and searching for the dozens who are missing.

In Japan, there were more casualties, as a different typhoon caused severe problems along the western coast of the country. Again torrential downpours triggered landslides and flooding. One man was found drowned inside his car, a woman was found dead in a gutter.

Chris Hogg, BBC News, Shanghai


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VOCABULARY

> coastal provinces
areas of a country which are situated by the sea

> the mainland
the larger or main part of a country, not including the islands around it

> triggered
caused something bad to start

> landslides
a mass of earth suddenly moving down a hill or slope

> to collapse
to fall down in pieces to the ground

> the effects weren't as bad as might have been feared
although the typhoon caused some damage, it could have been worse

> the damage it had wreaked
had caused something bad to happen

> casualties
injured people

> torrential downpours
very heavy rain

> gutter
the edge of the road where rain collects and flows into drains


Source:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2009/08/090810_witn_typhoon.shtml