China lifts blue alert for Typhoon Wutip as it weakens

China

China lifts blue alert for Typhoon Wutip as it weakens

2025-06-15 17:19 Last Updated At：17:57

As the intensity of this year’s first typhoon Wutip gradually weakens, China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) lifted the blue typhoon alert on Sunday morning.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system for typhoons, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.

Typhoon Wutip made landfall near Dongfang City in south China's island province of Hainan at around 23:00 on Friday, according to the Hainan Meteorological Service. It then made a second landfall near Leizhou City in south China's Guangdong Province at around 12:30 on Saturday.

At around 11:00 on Sunday, the center of Wutip reached Yangshan County of Guangdong's Qingyuan City. Its strength has decreased to a tropical depression, moving rapidly to the northeast at a speed of about 55 to 60 kilometers per hour with a gradually weakening strength.

According to the NMC, Typhoon Wutip entered east China's Jiangxi Province at around 14:00 on Sunday, and it will stay for approximately eight hours. Local disaster prevention and mitigation authorities initiated an emergency response for flood control on Saturday night.

Cities including Ganzhou, Xinyu and Fuzhou have strengthened inspections, and prepared flood control materials and reinforced outdoor billboard on Saturday, to resist the impact of typhoon with all their strength.

Affected by Wutip, the water level of the Fucai River in Hainan's Baisha Li Autonomous County, upstream of the Nandu River, exceeded the alarming level at around 09:00 on Saturday.

Local flood prevention team responded quickly, with multiple departments collaborating to protect the dikes and safeguard the safety of the people. As of 15:30 on Saturday, the water level had fallen to 197.7 meters, which was lower than the alarming level.

As the impact of Wutip on Hainan weakens, the transportation of railways, airports and ports in the province is gradually resuming. All ferry services across the Qiongzhou Strait have resumed at 03:00 on Sunday, while high-speed trains on the Shenzhen-Zhanjiang Railway also resumed operation on Sunday.

Typhoon Wutip has triggered heavy rainfall in Beiliu City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Saturday, with multiple road sections being blocked by fallen trees. Local firefighting teams conducted quick removal operations. They cut the fallen trees into smaller sections with specialized equipment and then removed them with fire trucks, so that the blocked road sections were restored to normal traffic as soon as possible.

In response to Typhoon Wutip and the associated heavy rainfall and flooding disasters, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management have allocated 40 million yuan (about 5.6 million U.S. dollars) of central natural disaster relief funds to support affected areas like Hainan, Guangdong and Guangxi in carrying out flood prevention and emergency disaster relief operations.

The funds will be used for the relocation of affected individuals, emergency response measures such as hazard elimination, investigation of secondary disaster risks and other emergency remediation efforts, aiming to minimized the impact of the disaster and ensure the safety of people's lives and property.

China, Lesotho to strengthen exchanges, advance cooperation

Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday China is willing to work with Lesotho to strengthen exchanges on governance experience, enhance coordination in multilateral affairs, and advance the China-Lesotho strategic partnership.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with Lesotho Prime Minister Sam Matekane in the capital of Lesotho.

During the meeting, Wang congratulated Lesotho on the 60th anniversary of its independence this year, and spoke highly of Lesotho government's efforts to prioritize economic development and steer the African country onto a path of sustainable growth. Since the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2024, the two sides have advanced cooperation under the 10 partnership action plans unveiled at the summit, successfully implementing a number of key projects to effectively promote Lesotho's development and revitalization, Wang said.

China stands ready to work with Lesotho to strengthen exchanges on governance experience, enhance coordination in multilateral affairs, and push for greater development of the China-Lesotho strategic partnership, he added.

Calling on the two sides to firmly support each other, Wang said that China will accelerate the implementation of its zero-tariff policy for African countries, including Lesotho, expand bilateral trade, investment and industrial cooperation, facilitate broader access of Lesotho's specialty products to the Chinese market, and continue to support Lesotho's national development.

China will continue to stand firmly with African countries, uphold justice for the Global South, including Lesotho, oppose unilateralism and acts of bullying, and work together to build a community with a shared future for humanity, Wang said.

On his part, Matekane said during the meeting that Lesotho cherishes its friendship with China and the strategic partnership between the two countries, and expressed gratitude for China's valuable support for the development of African countries, including Lesotho.

Lesotho firmly adheres to the one-China principle and resolutely supports China in safeguarding its core interests, he said, noting that his country stands ready to strengthen strategic mutual trust with China, expand people-to-people exchanges, jointly implement the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit, and deepen cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, manufacturing and energy.

Matekane stressed that China's zero-tariff policy for African products will inject new impetus into Lesotho's development. He also expressed Lesotho's willingness to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with China on multilateral platforms such as BRICS to jointly address global challenges.

On the same day, Wang also held talks with Lejone Mpotjoana, minister of foreign affairs and international relations of Lesotho.