As Typhoon Francisco approaches, multiple cities in China's eastern coastal province of Zhejiang have ramped up emergency efforts to brace for the violent tropical storm's impact.
Ningbo City in the province activated a Level I emergency response -- the highest -- at 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to the municipal flood control, typhoon prevention and drought relief headquarters.
The city's maritime bureau has comprehensively strengthened safety supervision, deploying manpower to intensify patrol inspections over ports, waterways, anchorages, and inland waters, while closely monitoring vessel movements in areas under its jurisdiction.
Early warning information is also being released in real-time through multiple channels to port and shipping companies, water-related engineering units, and navigating vessels.
"From July 24 to 26, the waters off Zhoushan City are expected to experience a big storm surge, likely reaching or exceeding the blue alert (the lowest level in China's four-tier weather warning system), with the highest potentially reaching the yellow alert (the second-lowest level). Nearshore waters may see 2-3 meters of moderate to rough waves, while offshore areas could experience 2.5-3.5 meters of rough waves, with the peak expected on July 25," said Li Zhilong, a forecaster at the marine environmental monitoring and forecasting center in Zhoushan City.
Due to persistent heavy rainfall, as of Wednesday, the water level on the Changtan Reservoir in Huangyan District, Taizhou City, had exceeded the flood limit by 0.6 meters.
To mitigate the impact of new potential rounds of rainstorm brought by Typhoon Francisco, the reservoir has been discharging water since Wednesday afternoon to free up storage capacity.
At 2:00 p.m. on July 23, the gates at the Changtan Reservoir were opened for flood discharge at a rate of 140 cubic meters per second. Combined with power generation discharges, the total outflow rate reached 200 cubic meters per second. The discharge is expected to last five days, lowering the water level below the flood limit of 34.05 meters, to ensure the reservoir's safety during the ongoing flood season.
Additionally, local authorities overseeing water resources and flood prevention in Taizhou City have activated disaster prevention alarms in upstream areas of the Yongning River, including Beiyang Town, Toutuo Town, and Chengjiang Subdistrict, strictly prohibiting unauthorized personnel from entering these flood-control areas.
Typhoon Francisco, the seventh typhoon of the year, formed in the waters east of the Philippines on Wednesday morning and is expected to reach the south of Zhejiang Provence and the north of neighboring Fujian Province, bringing continued rainfall in the coming days, according to China's National Meteorological Center.
East China's Zhejiang prepared for Typhoon Francisco
