Typhoon Maria: Residents in SE China begin cleaning up damage from storm

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Communities across southeastern China are assessing the damage from Typhoon Maria. The storm made landfall Wednesday morning, battering coastal areas with high winds and torrential rains. Nearly 400-thousand people fled from the path of the eighth typhoon to hit the country this year. CGTN's Yang Chengxi reports on the damage in the coastal city of Wenzhou.

Wenzhou took the brunt of Typhoon Maria. The rural Ba Cao coastal community is one of the city's biggest fishing ports. On Wednesday morning, sea water flooded the area.

CHEN ZHIDU, SECRETARY BA CAO COMMUNITY COMMITTEE "We evacuated all the people in time, especially those who live in old houses. More than 35-hundred people have been relocated to safety."

YANG CHENGXI WENZHOU "After the storm surge receded, many locals returned to their homes here to assess the damage."

The locals prepare for typhoons every year, and this storm was no different. Ships were moved to safety. People living on ground floors moved their valuables to higher ground in case of flooding and mudslides. One local resident said Maria was not something to ignore.

LIN CHANGXIANG FISHERMAN "I have been living here for more than 20 years. The typhoons get bigger every year, and the waves are higher every year."

Wenzhou is a major export manufacturing base in China. It's home to factories that make plastic kitchenware products.

MR. LONG FACTORY WORKER "Many of our structures have been blown down and we need to rebuild them."

There were no reports of major power outages as a result of the fast moving storm which weakened after it hit land. For the residents of Wenzhou, they're expecting things to get back to normal quickly. YCX, CGTN, WENZHOU, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE.