Lekima wreaks havoc as it moves north

Lekima, the strongest typhoon so far this year in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, rolled inland around 1:45 am on Saturday in Wenling, Zhejiang, packing winds of up to 187 kilometers per hour along with heavy rain, the National Meteorological Center said.

According to the center, it was the third-strongest typhoon to land in eastern China since 1949. The strongest was Wanda in 1956; the second-strongest was Saomai in 2006.

The center said that in the next three days Lekima will move northward and gradually weaken, but it will continue to bring powerful winds and heavy rain to northern and eastern China.

As of 10 am on Sunday, the Zhejiang provincial ocean forecasting and monitoring center had canceled its warnings for sea areas and said fishing boats could return to their business.