BEIJING: Authorities evacuated nearly 300,000 people and suspended public transport across eastern China on Friday, as Typhoon Gaemi brought torrential rains already responsible for five deaths in nearby Taiwan.
Gaemi was the strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan in eight years when it made landfall on Thursday, flooding parts of the island’s second-biggest city.
It also exacerbated seasonal rains in the Philippines on its path to Taiwan, triggering flooding and landslides that killed 20 people.
A tanker carrying 1.4 million liters of oil sank off Manila on Thursday, with authorities racing to contain a fuel spill.
It had weakened by the time it made landfall in China’s eastern Fujian province shortly before 8:00 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) on Thursday, state media said.
China is enduring a summer of extreme weather, with heavy rains across the east and south coming as much of the north has sweltered under successive heatwaves.
The country is by far the world’s largest emitter of the greenhouse gases scientists say are driving climate change and making extreme weather more frequent and intense.
Chinese authorities warned Typhoon Gaemi was bringing with it torrential rains that could cause flooding.
They have relocated more than 290,000 people in Fujian and shut down public transport, offices, schools and markets in some cities.
In neighboring Zhejiang province, footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV Friday showed streets turned into rivers, trees strewn over roads and bikes struggling through knee-high waters.
The province’s Wenzhou city — home to nine million people — has issued its highest warning for rainstorms and evacuated nearly 7,000 people, CCTV said.
The typhoon will also bring heavy rainfall to central Jiangxi and Henan, state media said.
Guangdong, China’s most populous province, on Friday suspended some passenger train services ahead of the typhoon’s expected arrival, CCTV said.
Citing the official China Weather Network, the broadcaster said the typhoon was moving northwestward at about 20 kilometers per hour.
It will “gradually weaken” as it makes its way to Jiangxi on Friday late afternoon, it said.
No deaths or injuries have yet been reported.
The north of the country has this week also been hit by showers, with state media saying Friday that heavy rains had killed one and left three missing in the northwestern province of Gansu.
At a meeting of the country’s top leadership chaired by President Xi Jinping on Thursday, officials urged local authorities to stay “highly vigilant and proactive” as the country entered peak flooding season.
Typhoon Gaemi displaces nearly 300,000 in eastern China
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Typhoon Gaemi displaces nearly 300,000 in eastern China
- China is enduring a summer of extreme weather, with heavy rains across the east and south coming as much of the north has sweltered under successive heatwaves
Democrats outpace Republicans in fundraising for key US House races
- Democratic strategists say House Republicans are more focused on preserving their small majority than expanding it, prioritizing member retention over candidate recruitment
WASHINGTON: Democratic candidates so far have outraised Republican hopefuls in the most competitive districts for the US House of Representatives with crucial mid-term elections nine months away, according to a Reuters analysis of campaign finance reports.
Incumbents in battleground districts, regardless of party, have a clear edge over their challengers, hauling in more than $84 million last year, according to federal reports released in January.
But a Reuters review of disclosures in 30 of the most competitive districts where incumbents are seeking reelection found that Republican challengers have struggled to raise money from donors when compared to Democratic challengers taking on Republican incumbents.
Forty-two Republican candidates in 16 Democratic-held districts last year collected some $20 million, about $465,000 each, while 54 Democratic candidates in 14 Republican-held districts hauled in around $50 million, nearly $918,000 each.
Republicans hold a narrow 218-214 majority in the House. The party that controls the White House historically suffers losses in midterm elections, and Democrats would only need to flip a handful of seats in November to gain control of the chamber for the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Democrats have a fundraising edge in each of the three battleground districts in which there is no incumbent seeking reelection.
The reports show the financial picture of campaigns in the districts that will likely determine control of the House heading into the primary election season, which begins March 3 with votes in Texas, North Carolina and Arkansas.
Democratic strategists say House Republicans are more focused on preserving their small majority than expanding it, prioritizing member retention over candidate recruitment.
“Given the fact that Republicans have claimed for the last year that they’re on offense, one could be shocked to learn how weak their recruitment has been this cycle,” said Katarina Flicker, a spokesperson for the Democratic super PAC House Majority PAC. “In competitive, Democratic-held seats across the country, Republicans are struggling to field credible candidates.”
REPUBLICANS CLAIM ADVANTAGE AMONG INCUMBENTS
Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said GOP incumbents as a whole “are absolutely dominating Democrats” in fundraising and on issues voters care about.
“It says a lot about the national Democrats’ desperation when they have to cherry-pick scraps of data to convince themselves they’re competing,” Marinella said.
At least 31 House Republicans will vacate their seats early next year after retiring or seeking higher office. The DCCC, House Democrats’ campaign arm, is targeting six of those seats, though only three are expected by political analysts to be competitive.
Control of the House and Senate will be determined by races in nearly three dozen districts and eight key states, respectively. The Republicans have a 53-47 edge in the Senate.
Other factors — such as the mid-decade redraw of congressional districts in several states and spending by political committees, national parties and super PACs — could play a significant role in the outcome of November’s congressional elections.
