South China's coastal regions mobilize disaster relief amid Typhoon Wipha

Coastal regions in South China, including Guangdong, Fujian, and Guangxi are mobilizing efforts to minimize losses from Typhoon Wipha, the year's sixth storm, while prioritizing residents' safety.

With Typhoon Wipha's impact on Guangdong gradually easing, provincial authorities downgraded the wind control emergency response from Level II to Level IV as of 11:00 Monday.

According to the provincial meteorological observatory, heavy rainfall is expected to continue in cities and counties across southern Guangdong on Monday. Typhoon-induced winds and rainfall will ease substantially across Guangdong starting from Tuesday.

All localities and departments across Guangdong are still urged to maintain heightened vigilance through reinforced 24/7 duty rotations and interagency coordination meetings, while implementing comprehensive preventive measures against typhoons, heavy rainfall, and potential secondary disasters.

Disaster recovery operations are underway, with prioritized repairs to critical infrastructure including transport networks, power grids, and telecommunications.

Typhoon Wipha made its second landfall near Hailing Island in Yangjiang in Guangdong at around 20:15 Sunday as a strong tropical storm, bringing a maximum wind speed of 25 meters per second near its center, the provincial meteorological observatory said.

China has a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe response.

East China's Fujian Province activated a Level-IV flood control emergency response at 08:00 Monday as Typhoon Wipha moves closer, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

Under the influence of the outer circulation of Typhoon Wipha, coastal areas of Fujian have experienced heavy to torrential rainfall since Sunday.

According to weather authorities, multiple areas in the province are forecast to experience heavy rainfall over the next three days.

The headquarters has urged heightened vigilance in response to the severe weather. All localities and departments are required to promptly activate or adjust emergency response measures while enhancing monitoring, early warning, and joint consultation for risk assessment.

They have been instructed to meticulously plan and implement comprehensive prevention and response measures for rainstorm disasters, as well as secondary hazards, including mountain floods, small and medium-sized river floods, geological hazards, and urban waterlogging.

Typhoon Wipha also brought heavy rainfall in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Torrential rains are forecast to affect southern areas from Sunday to Tuesday, according to the regional meteorological bureau.

At 10:00 Sunday, the regional meteorological observatory raised the typhoon alert from Level IV to Level III and upgraded its emergency response for major meteorological disasters related to typhoons to Level III.

The typhoon is expected to directly impact Weizhou Island, according to the region's maritime authorities. To ensure navigational safety, ferry services between the Beihai city port and Weizhou Island were suspended starting Sunday afternoon.

At present, Guangxi has completed the evacuation of coastal vessels and personnel. A total of 180 large ships have been moved outside the typhoon zone, 641 vessels are taking shelter at the inner harbor, and over 3,200 offshore workers have been evacuated.

Due to the impact of Wipha, several areas in Yulin City have experienced strong winds. This has caused the metal roofing of a residential building to be blown off on Saturday, hanging precariously between two residential buildings and posing a risk of falling.

Local firefighters responded quickly and arrived at the scene. After approximately two hours of relief efforts, they successfully cleared the metal roofing.

South China's coastal regions mobilize disaster relief amid Typhoon Wipha

Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Italy and Greece on Saturday to protest against U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, with protesters in Rome, Milan and Athens condemning Washington's actions and calling for respect for Venezuelan sovereignty.

In Rome, more than 1,000 demonstrators marched toward the area near the U.S. Embassy, calling on Washington to immediately release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

Police blocked roads around the embassy to prevent protesters from approaching the building, but demonstrators continued to denounce U.S. actions.

"First of all, we oppose U.S. imperialist aggression. This kind of behavior is shameful. The U.S. is attacking a sovereign country, and as [U.S. President Donald] Trump himself has said, this is for oil interests," said protester Giovanni Barbera.

Saturday's rally marked the second large-scale protest in Rome this month against U.S. military operations in Venezuela, following an earlier one on on Jan 3.

Participants included members of multiple political parties, labor unions and social organizations. The protesters held banners reading "Stop imperialist interference" and "Free Maduro," urging the international community to respect Venezuela's sovereignty and the will of its people, and condemning the U.S. for violating international law.

"We are protesting the way the U.S. handles international politics. Since the events of January 3, we have seen violations of international law, and we are very concerned about how the global situation is developing," said protester Stefano De Angelis.

Organizers said solidarity rallies in support of Venezuela were held in 30 Italian cities on the same day.

Meanwhile, similar protests were also staged in Greece. About 200 people gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Athens, voicing support for Venezuela and opposition to U.S. military actions.

"We oppose U.S. imperialism and its attack on Venezuela. At the same time, the U.S. is also threatening Cuba, Mexico and Greenland. We must stand up against this behavior," said Greek protester Argiro Sirmakezi.

Protesters rally in Italy, Greece against U.S. military operation in Venezuela