Strong winds have swept a large part of northern China since Friday evening, prompting widespread weather warnings and emergency response measures, disrupting traffic, and toppling utility poles.
The National Meteorological Center on Saturday renewed an orange alert for strong gales that are expected to sweep the country's northern and coastal regions over the weekend, warning that winds of up to force 13 (37.0-41.4 meters per second) on the national wind scale will hit parts of Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Hebei and Beijing from 8:00 Saturday to 8:00 Sunday.
In Zhoukou, a city in central China's Henan Province, gusty winds caused disturbances to greenhouse coverings at vegetable farms in Taikang County.
To prevent damage to crops, agricultural experts went to fields to assist farmers with securing the coverings.
On Saturday, the coastal areas of east China's Zhejiang Province experienced strong winds that led to the suspension of 71 passenger ferry routes in Zhoushan City.
As a precaution, maritime authorities implemented wind-control measures, and 43,000 tourists at the Putuo Mountain scenic area were evacuated in advance.
Similarly, coastal areas of east China's Fujian Province also reported gusts reaching force 9 (20.8-24.4 meters per second) on Saturday, with some areas seeing winds of force 11 (28.5-32.6 meters per second).
The strong winds halted 205 ferries on 77 routes, and 97 construction projects on water in the province.
Meanwhile, coastal ports enforced traffic controls, and large vessels and cruise ships were moved to safer waters.
In Huangshi, a city in central China's Hubei Province, thunderstorms and strong winds brought heavy rain to the city from Friday evening to the early morning on Saturday, flooding the city's downtown area and damaging power lines that affected 1,700 households.
Strong winds sweep parts of China
