Shanghai upgrades emergency response to Typhoon Bavi

East China's Shanghai has upgraded its emergency response to Typhoon Bavi and successfully evacuated 5,000 people to safety, as the powerful typhoon has made landfalls in neighboring Zhejiang Province.

Bavi, the ninth typhoon of the year, made two powerful landfalls on the coast of Zhejiang within less than one hour late Saturday night and early Sunday morning, bringing fierce winds and torrential rain.

Shanghai's meteorological station upgraded the typhoon blue alert to yellow -- the third level in the four-tiered weather warning system of China -- on Saturday afternoon, while the city's flood control headquarters simultaneously raised the emergency response level from IV to III.

In Chongming District, local sluice gates were fully opened to discharge inland river water into the Yangtze River, following dispatch orders from municipal and district flood control authorities, in an effort to reduce potential waterlogging risks.

"We are maintaining a duty watch in accordance with the flood control plan, and all personnel are on standby as required by the relevant protocols. We have entered a state of readiness for emergency response and have conducted comprehensive screening of all electromechanical equipment," said Xu Kai, head of the sluice management group at the Chongming Water Authority.

In Fengxian District, local cooperatives seized the time window to reinforce greenhouse facilities. Workers have added supports to weak points on greenhouse frames and cleared drainage ditches to ensure smooth floodwater discharge during heavy rainfall.

In the Jinshan District, authorities evacuated over 5,000 people and activated 78 temporary shelters Saturday morning. The shelters are equipped with drinking water, food, folding beds and blankets, with management staff and volunteers on site to ensure safe and proper care.

Meanwhile, the Jinshan District Emergency Management Bureau has deployed more than 50 personnel from six social emergency rescue teams, equipped with professional drainage equipment, to multiple locations for 24-hour duty to respond to any emergency situations.

Shanghai upgrades emergency response to Typhoon Bavi

Japanese citizens gathered near a bustling transport hub in Tokyo on Saturday to protest against the government's push for constitutional revision and military buildup and voice their concern over social welfare and living standards being squeezed.

The Japanese government, while touting the country as a "peace-loving nation", has continued to strengthen the Japan-U.S. security alliance, expand the Self-Defense Forces, or SDF, and accelerate its push toward remilitarization. Such moves that could lead Japan down the path toward war have fueled concerns from the Japanese public.

"We hope the Japanese government will truly act for peace. But the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is moving entirely in the opposite direction in its international activities. I hope that through activities like this, even if we can push Japanese politics just a little bit toward world peace, we will continue our efforts," said a protester.

Another protester expressed alarm over the growing defense budget. He argued that significantly boosting military expenditures would do little to enhance public security. Instead, it would place a heavier burden on the people's livelihoods.

"Once Japan really starts treating the military industry as a key industry, especially by keeping increasing defense spending, it means more and more government funds and taxpayers' money will go into the military sector. I hope we can create a force to push back against this trend – including similar efforts happening in other places. I hope more civil society groups like this will pop up," he said.

Outrage mounts among the public because Japan is turning its back on the welfare of its own people while embracing military expansion and arms exports.

"To sacrifice people's right to subsistence for this meaningless military buildup is just absolutely intolerable, and it makes people really angry," said another protester.

Japanese citizens voice concern over government's push toward military buildup