Beijing, July 9 (RHC)-- Chinese authorities have evacuated hundreds of thousands of residents as weakened Typhoon Nepartak battered China’s eastern coastline with powerful winds and heavy rains.

The water resources department of Fujian Province announced on Saturday that local authorities evacuated nearly 230,000 people living in risky areas and also ordered 33,200 fishing boats to head back to port.

According to reports, Typhoon Nepartak has weakened into a strong tropical storm, bringing in plenty of rainfall along with strong winds.  Nepartak made its first landfall as a super typhoon near Taitung City in southeastern Taiwan in the early hours of Friday.

China’s meteorological center stated that the storm system made landfall at about 1:45 p.m. in the Quanzhou municipality, packing winds of 90 kilometers per hour.

Local news outlets further reported that the storm generated four- to five-meter-high waves.

The super typhoon slammed into the east coast of Taiwan Friday morning, overturning cars, forcing thousands from their homes and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

According to local reports, the storm left two people dead and 72 others wounded in Taiwan with most of the victims suffering from injuries to their heads or limbs caused by falling glass.