Shanghai ramps up relief efforts in response to Typhoon Pulasan's aftermath

After Typhoon Pulasan struck Shanghai twice on Thursday night, bringing record-breaking rainfall before departing on Friday morning, the city ramped up relief efforts to support residents in the aftermath.

Firefighters, emergency response teams, and local cleanup crews have been fully mobilized to rescue individuals trapped by floods, restore traffic, and clear waterlogged areas.

Before dawn on Friday, an elderly woman became trapped in a basement as floodwaters rose to her shoulders. Receiving the emergency call, police arrived with life-saving equipment and successfully rescued her using a life buoy.

In Fengcheng Town, floodwaters reached depths of up to 40 centimeters. Emergency teams deployed water pump trucks, and after more than three hours of effort, the area was cleared of water.

On Friday morning, several road sections in Fengxian District experienced significant flooding, with one intersection in Nanqiao Town particularly hard hit. The pooling disrupted local traffic and flooded nearby schools and a kindergarten.

Firefighters and cleanup crews quickly drained the water and restored road access.

In Jinshan District, heavy rains submerged a crossroads, prompting the local government to temporarily block the road. Firefighters used floating and hand-held pumps to drain the water, reopening the road by afternoon.

Some low-lying neighborhoods also experienced flooding. Firefighters, cleanup crews, and local residents have been working together to pump out water and clear drains, while residents of flooded homes were relocated for safety.

"Government organs at various levels are fully committed to draining the floodwaters. So far, flooding in 45 residential compounds has been cleared," said Xu Jianbing, a staff member at the Fengxian District Flood Control Office.

Shanghai ramps up relief efforts in response to Typhoon Pulasan's aftermath

Shanghai ramps up relief efforts in response to Typhoon Pulasan's aftermath

China's top regulators on Monday announced a series of detailed measures to further ease the burden on companies and step up support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The specific measures include addressing the practical difficulties troubling small and micro market entities in production and operation and will keep enhancing targeted and differentiated assistance to individually owned businesses, said Luo Wen, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation, at a press conference in Beijing on Monday.

And the government will strive to effectively alleviate the burden on enterprises and make more efforts to reduce institutional transaction costs, he said.

"We will vigorously advance the reform on one-stop government services, pushing the services for enterprises to shift from 'multiple places, multiple windows and multiple times' to 'one place, one window and one time.' We will make greater efforts to reduce the burden on enterprises and carry out special inspections and random checks on illegal charges levied on businesses with the focus on key charging bodies and key industry sectors," said Luo.

He said the financial supervision departments will strive to step up their efforts on support for the real economy to alleviate the financing difficulties of small and micro businesses.

Luo emphasized the need to tailor financial products and services for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and implement differentiated arrangements in terms of credit lines, interest rates, financing maturities, and repayment methods.

"We will promote the combined effect of equity, funds, bonds and other financing instruments, and realize an amount of 300 billion yuan (about 42.4 billion U.S. dollars) of credit enhancement and granting for quality financing each year, which will fully benefit all types of businesses," said Luo.

Top regulators release plans to support SMEs by streamlining services and boost financing