Typhoon Haikui hits China's east coast
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Fishing boats seek harbor at Taizhou. |
Typhoon Haikui made landfall Wednesday morning in east China's Zhejiang Province, as more than 1.54 million people in Zhejiang and 252,000 residents in Shanghai were evacuated.
The storm's center was located 270 km southeast of Xiangshan County as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, and it was moving northwest at a speed of 10 km per hour, the provincial meteorological observatory said.
The storm has drenched Zhejiang, causing some reservoirs to see excessive water levels.
At 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, the observatory issued a red alert against the typhoon, which is the most severe alert in the country's four-tier color-coded weather warning system, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Haikui has formed a huge, clear eye. As its wind ring expands, it will bring a wide-coverage affect to coastal regions of Zhejiang and Shanghai, said Lou Maoyuan, deputy director with the observatory.
Railway authorities have canceled all passenger trains departing from, and arriving at, the cities of Ningbo, Taizhou and Wenzhou and other coastal regions of Zhejiang.
As of 3:54 p.m. Tuesday, over 70 flights departing from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport had been canceled. Hundreds of flights were canceled in Shanghai on Wednesday morning, hours after the storm made landfall.
The state flood control and drought relief headquarters lifted the emergency response to the typhoon and flooding to Level II, the second-highest level in the country's four-tier emergency response system.
Haikui is expected to remain in Zhejiang's coastal areas and the nearby city of Shanghai after making landfall, the observatory said.
Authorities in the city of Taizhou ordered all businesses and schools to close Tuesday, as the approaching typhoon is expected to make landfall in the evening.
The city also put a halt to all construction work and inspected all dangerous chemical production enterprises to ensure their safety during the typhoon.
Chen Tiexiong, secretary of the Taizhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, said Haikui will be the first typhoon to hit the city since 2006.
"The typhoon will bring strong winds and heavy downpours lasting for 48 hours," he warned.
Haikui will be the third typhoon to wallop China's eastern coast in a week, after storms Saola and Damrey hit the region over the weekend.
Zhejiang's provincial flood control headquarters said more than 467,300 people have been relocated since Sunday in preparation for the typhoon, adding that more than 33,000 ships have been ordered back to port.
At 4 p.m. Tuesday, neighboring Jiangsu Province issued a Level II emergency response to severe typhoon Haikui, according to the provincial flood control headquarters.
Jiangsu also ordered over 23,900 ships to take shelter at port and relocated about 74,300 people to avoid risks. Rescuers and emergency rescue suppliers have been prepared.
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