BEIJING, Sept 15, 2008 (AFP) - China evacuated nearly half a million people from exposed coastal areas as tropical storm Sinlaku beared down, state media reported Monday. Authorities also ordered 30,000 fishing boats to return to harbour in the eastern province of Zhejiang, as heavy rains hit, indicating Sinlaku was moving closer, Xinhua news agency said. In southeast Fujian province, 230,000 people have moved to safer places, and the same number have been relocated in Zhejiang, Xinhua said. Sinlaku, which lashed Taiwan over the weekend causing landslides, power blackouts and uprooting trees, was downgraded from a typhoon early Monday, the agency said.
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