China's southern coastal province of Guangdong has stepped up precautionary measures on Saturday against the approaching Typhoon Wipha as it gradually gains strength, intensifying from a strong tropical storm to a full-blown typhoon.
According to the Hainan Meteorological Service, Typhoon Wipha has strengthened into a full-blown typhoon by 23:00 Saturday. Its center was located on the northeastern part of the South China Sea, about 620 kilometers northeast of Wenchang City, south China's Hainan Province. The maximum wind speed near the center reached 33 meters per second. To tackle the impacts from the strengthening typhoon and the expected bad weather, by 02:00 Saturday, all the fishing boats were ordered to return and take shelter in ports, according to the local authorities in Guangdong.
In the Jiangmen City, fishing boats were seen lined up neatly in ports as fishermen and local law enforcers took precautionary measures to protect the boats from possible damage.
"One of our major focuses will be to strengthen supervision and patrols of the fishing boats and ports. Another focus will be stepping up monitoring of personnel to prevent fishermen from going back to the fishing boats," said Liao Guoxing, deputy head of the Taishan Unit under Jiangmen Comprehensive Maritime Law Enforcement Brigade.
By Saturday, the city had evacuated over 7,000 residents and had opened more than 370 indoor emergency shelters for those in need.
The nearby Zhuhai City, also in Guangdong, activated level II emergency response for wind prevention at noon on Saturday, due to typhoon Wipha.
The emergency response saw all of the city's seaside scenic areas closed and an orderly evacuation of tourists on islands.
By 10:00 Saturday, all of the city's 16 seaside scenic areas had been closed and more than 40,000 residents in the high-risk regions had been evacuated in advance.
"We have launched targeted measures in response to typhoon Wipha, such as real-time monitoring of underground drainage systems to eliminate risks. We have also conducted comprehensive inspection to identify all the risks and hazards. Most importantly, we have evacuated as many residents as possible in the high-risk areas, as well as the tourists on the islands in our district," said Wang Junmin, director of the Flood, Drought and Typhoon Prevention Office of Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai City.
Starting from 03:00 Sunday, Zhuhai maintained a level I emergency response for typhoon prevention, and school classes, work, industrial production, transportation services and commercial activities were suspended in the city.
On Saturday, the central government allocated 200,000 woven bags along with over 1,300 pieces of emergency flood and drought relief materials, including drainage pumps, rubber boats, assault boats, lighting equipment and life jackets, to Guangdong in an effort to support the region's flood and typhoon prevention effort.
China's coastal province steps up precautions as Wipha strengthens into full-blown typhoon
