Shanwei City of South China's coastal Guangdong Province has been placed on high alert as Typhoon Wipha, the sixth typhoon of the year, is expected to make landfall along the coast Sunday afternoon or evening.
As of 07:00 Sunday, Typhoon Wipha was observed at 21.7 degrees north latitude and 114.9 degrees east longitude, with the maximum wind speed near its center reaching 33 meters per second. It is expected to move westward at around 25 km per hour, with its intensity continuing to strengthen, according to meteorological forecasts.
In Shanwei City, various departments have taken precautions ahead of the landfall of Typhoon Wipha.
The local maritime authority has carried out inspections in the affected waters, maintaining real-time vessel monitoring and deploying personnel for on-site checks.
"By means of phone calls, the WeChat messaging app and other point-to-point methods, we have notified fishing vessels operating at sea to return to port for shelter," said Miao Fan, a local law enforcement official in Shanwei City.
At present, all the workers at marine ranches, fish cages and wind power platforms in the city have come ashore for safety.
A total of 18 A-level tourist sites and one provincial-level tourist resort have been shut down for safety concerns.
In addition, local authorities have prepared 105 rescue vessels such as tugboats and lifeboats, and nearly 5,000 personnel from 124 emergency rescue teams across the city are also on standby.
To ensure the safety of the people in the potentially affected areas, local authorities have set up multiple evacuation sites with emergency supplies well prepared.
"We have conducted an overall inspection of all the construction sites, and low-lying and high-risk dilapidated houses to ensure that all personnel have been evacuated, and ensure that everyone has enough living supplies during the evacuation period," said Wu Zhenwei, deputy town chief of Dongyong Town.
As of 20:00 on Saturday, more than 31,000 people had been evacuated to safe areas across the city, and 1,154 indoor shelters had been opened in the city to accommodate the evacuees.
South China city braces for Typhoon Wipha
