As Typhoon Bavi, the ninth typhoon of the year, moves closer to China, local authorities in east China's Zhejiang Province have stepped up precautionary measures to ensure public safety.
China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters upgraded its emergency response for flood and typhoon control from Level IV to Level III on Thursday in response to the approaching typhoon.
The center of the typhoon was located over waters about 1,030 kilometers southeast of Keelung, Taiwan, at 14:00 on Thursday, meteorological authorities said.
According to meteorological forecasts, the typhoon is expected to make landfall on, or brush past, the northern coast of Taiwan during the daytime on Saturday, then make landfall along the coast between Fuqing in Fujian Province and Wenling in Zhejiang Province on Saturday night.
It is expected to make landfall as either a super typhoon or a severe typhoon.
Based on the typhoon's trajectory and projected path, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters in Zhejiang issued a Level IV emergency typhoon response at 09:00 on Thursday.
At the Shanhuang Pumping Station in the Fenghua District of Zhejiang's Ningbo City, both sluice gates have been fully opened, allowing inland river water to be discharged in an orderly manner into the Dongjiang River.
Meanwhile, station staff have been conducting thorough inspections of critical facilities, including open-close mechanisms, power supply lines, and control systems, to ensure all equipment is operating at peak performance.
"We have carried out preemptive water discharge at all key flood-control sluice gates across the district, successfully lowering the river to a low water level," said Huang Tao, a staff member at the river and lake management center of the water resources bureau in Fenghua District.
Meanwhile, in Wenzhou City in Zhejiang, the local fire and rescue detachment has completed citywide inspections and performance tests on all water rescue equipment, as part of a broader strategy to strengthen the city's typhoon defense preparedness.
The water conservancy department in Wenzhou has sent staff to open sluice gates to discharge water from 20 reservoirs and lower water levels to free up capacity to absorb the expected heavy rainfall.
"First, we have ramped up our duty shifts and increased the frequency of patrols. Second, we have carried out thorough inspections of our emergency supplies to ensure they are in good working order. And third, we have conducted load tests on our generator sets to make sure they can handle the demand when needed," said Huang Kexin, deputy director of Qiaodun reservoir management office at the water resources bureau in Cangnan County.
In the coming days, the water resources department will make scientific adjustments to reservoir operations based on precipitation data and water level data, and will activate a new round of water discharge if conditions warrant.
Maritime officers in Zhejiang's Taizhou City have been checking the safety of boats at local docks, while 33 water-related projects in Taizhou and 18 coastal passenger ferry routes have been suspended.
Shengsi County, the easternmost island county in Zhejiang, has also been making early preparations by organizing the orderly evacuation of tourists from all islands under its jurisdiction.
So far, more than 9,000 people on the islands have been evacuated, and relevant ferry services are expected to be suspended from Friday.
East China province braces for Typhoon Bavi
