Guangdong sets wind alert at lowest level
Dark clouds show a menacing edge as Typhoon Wipha makes landfall in Guangdong. Photo: Reuters
As the impact of Typhoon Wipha, the sixth typhoon of the year, on Guangdong gradually weakened, the provincial headquarters for flood, drought and wind control announced the adjustment of its emergency response to wind control from Level II to Level IV at 11am on Monday.
According to the provincial meteorological observatory, heavy rainfall is expected to continue in cities and counties across southern Guangdong on Monday. Typhoon-induced winds and rainfall will ease substantially across Guangdong starting from Tuesday.
All localities and departments across Guangdong are still urged to maintain heightened vigilance through reinforced 24/7 duty rotations and interagency coordination meetings, while implementing comprehensive preventive measures against typhoons, heavy rainfall, and potential secondary disasters.
Disaster recovery operations are under way, with prioritized repairs to critical infrastructure including transport networks, power grids and telecommunications.
Typhoon Wipha made its second landfall near Hailing Island in Yangjiang in Guangdong around 8.15pm on Sunday as a strong tropical storm, bringing a maximum wind speed of 25 meters per second near its center.
Heavy rain lashed the cities of Yangjiang, Zhanjiang and Maoming in Guangdong after the storm system made landfall on Sunday evening.
Floods exceeding warning levels occurred in 20 rivers across the country due to Wipha, state broadcaster CCTV cited the water resources ministry as saying on Monday.
But many areas doused in heavy rainfall have recovered from the impact quickly, it said.
Authorities had enforced traffic controls at major expressways connecting the cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai to Hong Kong as well as at ports, and these were lifted by Sunday night.
Train services disrupted by the storm were also gradually resumed throughout Monday.
The public was advised to remain vigilant about any secondary disasters, CCTV said during the noon bulletin on Monday. The system will move into the Gulf of Tonkin late on Monday morning, over which it will gather intensity before hitting Vietnam's northern coast, the Chinese forecaster said. (Xinhua/Reuters)
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