Zhejiang, Guangdong bracing for typhoons
Typhoon In-Fa, which was approaching southeastern China on Wednesday, is expected to bring heavy rain in coastal areas of eastern Zhejiang province over the weekend, the National Meteorological Center said.
As of 2 pm on Wednesday, the center of the typhoon, the sixth this year, was approximately 560 kilometers east of Taiwan, moving northwest toward the coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.
The typhoon was expected to move at about 10 km/h, reaching the southeastern area of the East China Sea around Friday evening, gradually approaching Zhejiang and making landfall in Taizhou in southern Zhejiang.
Most areas of the province are expected to experience torrential rains from Friday to Sunday.
Li Ruimin, a meteorologist at the Zhejiang Provincial Meteorological Service Center, told Hangzhou-based Qianjiang Evening News that the typhoon, formed on Sunday in the western Pacific, was one of the major reasons that Henan province was being hit by devastating rainfall.
On Wednesday, the Taizhou Maritime Bureau increased its sea patrol force, conducted inspections of key areas and introduced a high level of alert due to the possibility of the typhoon hitting the area.
The Taizhou Bureau of Culture, Radio, Tourism and Sports issued an emergency notice to close scenic spots, suspend large-scale outdoor cultural and tourism activities and organize the evacuation of stranded passengers.
In another development, Typhoon Cempaka, the seventh typhoon of this year, made landfall in the coastal area of southern China’s Guangdong province on Tuesday night, bringing strong winds and heavy rains.
Cempaka is the first typhoon to make landfall in China this year.
The typhoon landed on the coast of Jiangcheng district in the city of Yangjiang, packing winds of up to 118.8 km/h near its eye, the provincial meteorological center said.
Yangjiang has implemented traffic control on many roads and issued a red alert, the highest level, for rainstorms.
The city also has called back 384 fishing vessels and asked 2,680 fishfarming workers to be evacuated ashore. Nearly 5,000 people in the city were evacuated to safety.