typhoon

BBC Learning English Words in the News 10th August 2009 Deadly storms in East Asia Words in the News © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009 Page 1 of 2 bbclearningenglish.com 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. Chris Hogg reports: 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, ShanghaiWords in the news © British Broadcasting Corporation 2009 Page 2 of 2 bbclearningenglish.com Vocabulary and definitions 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 More on this story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8192633.stm Read and listen to the story and the vocabulary online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2009/08/090810_witn_typhoon.shtml