Liaoning escalates emergency response as typhoon Gaemi moves northward

As Typhoon Gaemi moves further inland and northward, accompanied by heavy rains, China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has escalated emergency responses in flood-prone provinces including Liaoning in the northeast.

The typhoon, the third of the year, made its second landfall in Putian City of east China's Fujian Province Thursday evening.

In Shenyang city, the provincial capital, persistent heavy rains have caused waterlogging on several roads, disrupting traffic in parts of the city. Local authorities have swiftly initiated drainage efforts to restore normal traffic flow.

As of Friday afternoon, traffic conditions in Shenyang had significantly improved, though some sections still experienced waterlogging. To expedite drainage efforts, authorities have deployed 25 rubber dams at lower heights and activated 61 pump stations across the city.

In Panjin city, 102 pump stations are currently operational, and personnel have been deployed to patrol and monitor the five underpasses in the city.

"We have implemented comprehensive patrols and intensified monitoring at key locations, including low-lying road junctions, road sections and bridges," said Wang Bingren, deputy leader of the traffic police division of Panjin Public Security Bureau.

Other departments in the province have also activated flood-response efforts. Maritime authorities have issued meteorological warnings and intensified patrols at ports, construction sites near water bodies, and water parks to alert crews about wind prevention measures.

Liaoning escalates emergency response as typhoon Gaemi moves northward

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday slashed interest rates by 50 basis points amid cooling inflation and a weakening labor market, marking the first rate cut in over four years.

"The Committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance," the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank's policy-setting body, said in a statement.

"In light of the progress on inflation and the balance of risks, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/2 percentage point to 4-3/4 to 5 percent," the FOMC said.

This signals the start of an easing cycle. Starting from March 2022, the Fed had raised rates consecutively for 11 times to combat inflation not seen in forty years, pushing the target range for the federal funds rate up to between 5.25 percent and 5.5 percent, the highest level in over two decades.

After maintaining rates at the high level for over a year, the Fed's tight monetary policy faced pressure to pivot due to the easing of inflationary pressures, signs of weakening in the job market, and slowing economic growth.

U.S. Fed slashes rates by 50 basis points, first rate cut in four years