South China's coastal regions are maintaining emergency responses to battle the lingering impacts of Typhoon Wipha, as it gradually moves away from the area.
Typhoon Wipha, the sixth typhoon of the year, made a second landfall near Hailing Island in Yangjiang, south China's Guangdong Province at around 20:15 on Sunday as a strong tropical storm, with a maximum wind speed near its center of 25 meters per second, according to the provincial meteorological observatory.
It is expected to move west-southwestward at about 20 kilometers per hour while gradually weakening in intensity.
Earlier on Sunday at around 17:50, Wipha first landed near Haiyan Town of Jiangmen City in Guangdong, with a 33-meters-per-second maximum wind speed near its center.
On Sunday afternoon, rainfall in Shenzhen, a major city in Guangdong, had weakened. The city's meteorological observatory issued a notice stating that although Typhoon Wipha is moving away from Shenzhen, the city is expected to experience continuous rain from Sunday night through Monday.
Currently, all emergency shelters in Shenzhen are open to residents affected by the typhoon-triggered bad weather.
"Since Saturday, 85 workers from the Subway Line 15 project have been relocated to this emergency shelter. We provided them with water, instant noodles, and moisture-proof bedding so they can stay safely and comfortably while sheltering from the severe weather," said Zhou Yu, Communist Party secretary of Shenzhen's Fuzhongfu residential community.
In nearby Zhuhai City and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, 257 shelters were opened to protect residents from strong winds. In total, 64,799 people were evacuated, and 7,973 were relocated to safer areas.
"We arrived here on Saturday night. The conditions are good. For example, the bedding is soft and the temperature here is comfortable," said a relocated resident surnamed Feng.
Zhuhai downgraded its typhoon alert on Monday, and the city's wind-prevention emergency response level was also lowered. Classes, work, industrial production, transportation services, and commercial activities resumed as part of efforts to return life and production to normal.
China on Sunday activated a national Level IV disaster relief emergency response to address the severe impact Typhoon Wipha had on Guangdong Province.
As part of the response, special work groups were dispatched to affected areas to assess the damage and coordinate with local authorities on disaster relief efforts, including the provision of basic necessities to affected residents.
As Wipha moved away, the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SAR) each lowered their typhoon warnings from the previous hurricane signal No. 10, the top-level warning.
The Hong Kong Observatory downgraded the typhoon to signal No. 8 on Sunday afternoon and then lower the typhoon to signal No. 3 on 19:40.
The Macao SAR declared to end the "state of immediate prevention" on Sunday evening as Typhoon Wipha swept across the city during the day and moved away.
The Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau downgraded the typhoon to signal No. 3 at 22:30, with social life gradually returning to normal. A blue storm surge warning was still in force.
Previously, the signals No. 8 and No. 9 were issued at 04:00 and 11:00, respectively.
According to the SAR's Civil Protection Operations Center, immigration clearance services at border points linking Macao to its neighboring mainland city of Zhuhai were resumed. The Macao Transport Bureau noted that public bus services were also available.
South China's coastal areas maintain emergency responses as typhoon Wipha moves away
South China's coastal areas maintain emergency responses as typhoon Wipha moves away
South China's coastal areas maintain emergency responses as typhoon Wipha moves away
