China Daily Global Edition (USA)

Guangdong, Hainan brace for typhoons

- By HOU LIQIANG houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn

Guangdong and Hainan provinces could be hit by two typhoons in the next five days, with one expected to be the strongest of the year so far, authoritie­s said.

Barijat, the 23rd typhoon of the year, formed on the South China Sea and was increasing in strength as it moved westward at 10 to 15 kilometers per hour on Tuesday morning, the Hainan provincial meteorolog­ical bureau said.

The bureau has issued an alert, warning against strong winds and heavy rain brought by the typhoon, with maximum winds reaching 65 km per hour near its center. The typhoon was then 850 km from Leizhou, Guangdong. It is expected to land between western Guangdong and eastern Hainan during the daytime on Thursday.

The National Meteorolog­ical Center warned that wind speeds near the center of Barijat may reach 90 to 119 km/h when it lands.

Meanwhile, the China Meteorolog­ical Administra­tion noted that Barijat had formed very close to the Chinese mainland.

“Barijat will result in high winds in sea areas and bring rain to the coast. But it will not penetrate far into the Chinese mainland,” the administra­tion said.

The national observator­y warned, however, that Typhoon Mangkhut, the 22nd typhoon this year, may exceed Typhoon Jebi as the strongest of the year.

“Wind speeds near Mangkhut’s eye reached 187 km/h, and its strength is expected to continue to increase and may reach about 223 km/h to almost 245 km/h,” it said.

It also said Mangkhut will enter the northeaste­rn part of the South China Sea on Saturday before landing in the central coastal area of Guangdong on Sunday.

The strength and speed of Mangkhut will result in high winds and heavy rain in sea areas, and residents in the coastal areas of Guangdong and Hainan, as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, should take precaution­s, it said.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarte­rs held a conference on Monday to discuss preparatio­ns for the typhoons. It has notified the three provincial regions to evacuate those working in sea areas and prepare for possible flooding.

The three regions may be hit by mountain torrents and there will be floods in mediumand small-sized rivers in these regions.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has dispatched two teams of experts to Hainan and Guangdong to guide the typhoon control work, it said.

 ?? ZHU WENBIAO / FOR CHINA DAILY ?? Farmer Jiang Bingtai, 72, holds dry rice stalks in Wannian, Jiangxi province, on Tuesday, saying that he believes the field won’t produce anything this year. Crops in the area were adversely affected by heat waves and a lack of rain during the summer, despite proximity to Poyang Lake, China’s biggest freshwater lake.
ZHU WENBIAO / FOR CHINA DAILY Farmer Jiang Bingtai, 72, holds dry rice stalks in Wannian, Jiangxi province, on Tuesday, saying that he believes the field won’t produce anything this year. Crops in the area were adversely affected by heat waves and a lack of rain during the summer, despite proximity to Poyang Lake, China’s biggest freshwater lake.

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