China braces for super typhoon Usagi
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 22, 2013
Southern Chinese coastal provinces have evacuated residents, issued alerts and canceled air and shipping services as super typhoon Usagi strengthens over the Pacific and moves towards China.
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Fishing boats stay in a harbor to avoid typhoon Usagi in Xinbei City, southeast China's Taiwan, Sept. 20, 2013. The meteorological department of Taiwan issued warning on Typhoon Usagi on Friday, and forecasted heavy rainstorms and potential floods in many areas of Taiwan.[Xinhua] |
Usagi is expected to hammer south China's Pearl River Delta some time between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.
Usagi was 660 km southeast of Hong Kong at 5 p.m. Saturday, packing a wind speed of 187 km per hour at its center. It was moving northwest at a speed of up to 20 km per hour, the National Meteorological Center said in a latest update.
The agency issued the highest level of alert for Usagi, warning that it will bring gales and downpours to southern and southeastern coastal areas.
The center said Usagi would bring strong storms to the east of Taiwan and the coastal areas of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces on Saturday and Sunday.
China Southern Airlines said it would cancel flights in and out of Hong Kong on Sunday and cancel flights to Shantou, Zhuhai and Shenzhen in the Pearl River delta as of 10 a.m. Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou has issued a yellow alert over the approaching typhoon.
Guangdong government has issued warnings and activated the second highest alert for disaster response. Local authorities have been sending SMS messages to coastal residents, telling them to be prepared for the super typhoon.
Guangdong has increased the number of salvage forces. More than 44,000 fishing boats and 19,000 fishermen have been told to return to harbors and land.
Meanwhile, Guangdong's neighboring Fujian Province has evacuated more than 80,000 people and deployed over 50,000 disaster-relief personnel.
4,082 elderly people, women and children living on rafts in coastal fish farms have been displaced to safety
Meanwhile, a total of 22,883 fishing boats in Fujian province have returned to ports to take shelter from typhoon Usagi, local authorities said late Friday.
"Typhoon Usagi is strong and dangerous. It poses quite significant threats to Fujian," said Su Shulin, governor of the province. Su told local officials to be solidly prepared.
Shipping transport between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan has been partially suspended.
Meanwhile, the government in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has issued alerts and officials in Hainan Province were told to step up their typhoon watch.
Civil affairs authorities in Guangxi were told to mitigate the impact as much as possible, according to the local government.
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