Prior to making landfall as a typhoon before daybreak Thursday EDT,Chanthu whipped up strong winds in Hong Kong Wednesday, July 21, 2010. (APPhoto/Vincent Yu)Chanthu has lost its typhoon status but remains a serious threat to livesand property as it unleashes flooding rain over southern China and neighboringVietnam.Chanthu will continue to drop torrential rain over the southern Chinese statesof western Guangxi and eastern Yunnan, as well as far northern Vietnam. Therain near the border of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and China is notdirectly related to Chanthu.
Chanthu will then push farther westward across Yunnan on Saturday. Later in theweekend and early next week, the system and its heavy rain will get drawn intothe zone of persistent storminess that extends into northern India.
Chanthu will unleash several inches of rain across southern China andneighboring parts of northern Vietnam into Saturday. The mountains will endurethe heaviest rain totals.
The rainfall alone being produced by Chanthu threatens to trigger serious flashflooding and dangerous mudslides. Since Chanthu follows recent rounds oftorrential rain, flooding problems will quickly occur and ongoing flooding willworsen.
China has been hit especially hard by inundating rainfall this year. Theresultant flooding has left more than 701 people dead with another 347 missing,according to the Associated Press.
Chanthu has been blamed on the deaths of at least three people. Xinhua NewsAgency reports that two people died when Chanthu's strong winds blew over awall.
Despite the flood danger, powerful winds are no longer accompanying Chanthu.
The system lost its typhoon status after slamming onshore well before daybreakThursday, EDT.
Chanthu made landfall near Wuchuan, China. Maximum sustained winds at that timewhere estimated to be near 85 mph, the equivalent of a Category 1hurricane.
The mountainous terrain of southern China quickly caused Chanthu to weaken intoa tropical storm, then a tropical rainstorm.
Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski
