Typhoon Bualoi has brought torrential rains and strong winds to south China's Hainan Province, prompting the mobilization of emergency measures across the island to protect residents and minimize damage.
On Saturday night, the city of Sanya in Hainan Province issued a red alert for heavy rainfall and upgraded its emergency response for flood and wind disasters to Level II.
In response to worsening weather conditions, classes at all primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, and off-campus training institutions have been suspended in Sanya, a coastal city on the island known for its beaches. Sanya Phoenix International Airport has halted all flight operations, with services expected to resume Sunday night. Major tourist attractions across the city have also temporarily shut down.
By Saturday afternoon, the Sanya Maritime Authority had organized the evacuation of more than 2,000 non-essential personnel from offshore operation platforms and other vessels within its jurisdiction to ensure maritime safety
In Hainan's island city of Sansha, a top-level emergency response was activated on Saturday. Various departments are conducting hazard inspections, reinforcing doors and windows, and relocating residents and construction workers on islands and reefs.
As of 16:00 Saturday, Sansha had successfully relocated and resettled 685 people.
"After we arrived at the sports center, they handed out water, instant noodles, and other supplies. We feel safe staying here," said Wu Guangliu, a construction worker at a project site in Sansha.
According to the Hainan Meteorological Bureau, heavy to torrential downpours are expected on Sunday, especially in the eastern and southern regions of the island, with some areas forecast to face extremely heavy rainfall.
Hainan braces for storms as Typhoon Bualoi approaches
The threat of the barrier lake formed after Wednesday's catastrophic mudslide at the Gyirong Port, a major China-Nepal land border crossing in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, continues to subside, with the lake's size steadily shrinking, according to an on-site monitoring team.
In the wake of the disaster, which has claimed at least seven lives and left more than 550 others missing in Gyirong, China Anneng -- a state-owned engineering and rescue enterprise -- has deployed teams to the disaster zone to support the search and rescue operations.
One of the teams tasked with monitoring the barrier lake, which sits over 10 kilometers upstream from the port, said real-time surveillance footage showed the lake was continuing to drain out.
"Our task today is to find a stable monitoring point on the opposite bank and install our detection equipment there to monitor the displacement of the landslide body and guard against the risks of a secondary collapse," said Chen Hanxiao, a member of the monitoring team from the Lhasa base of China Anneng.
The 15-member monitoring team have brought with it drones, satellite stations, and communication gear.
"A comparison of today's imagery with yesterday's shows that the water level here has dropped by about one-third. The receding water poses no further threat to the dam's structural integrity, buying valuable time for the rescue crews to carry out critical hazard mitigation work," said Hu Bo, head of the monitoring team.
However, Hu cautioned that despite the encouraging signs, the situation remains unpredictable given the region's complex glacial environment and changeable weather conditions. He stressed that real-time surveillance and data analysis are vital to assessing the barrier lake's stability and supporting follow-up operations.
The mudslide was triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse on the Nepalese side, where the disaster had killed more than 620 people and left over 2,400 others missing, as of Saturday morning, according to the country's national disaster risk reduction and management authority.
Threat of barrier lake waning after massive mudslide near China-Nepal border
