Shenzhen Issues First Typhoon Alert of 2019 Storm Season

By Matthew Bossons

One month after the Guangdong Meteorological Bureau announced that the province is expected to see four or five destructive and powerful typhoons this year, Shenzhen has triggered its first alert of the 2019 typhoon season.

At 8.45pm last night, a white typhoon warning was issued by the Meteorological Bureau of Shenzhen, citing the “probable effects of a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours.”

Shenzhen’s weather authorities are telling citizens to tune in to radio or TV broadcasts for the latest typhoon news (although you can just stay updated with That’s – we have you covered), while open-water fish farms have been told to reinforce their facilities.

READ MORE: 2 Typhoon Names Retired after Devastating Storm Season in China

Rain is expected throughout the rest of today in Shenzhen, with hourly highs ranging from 28-31 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow, Shenzhen is expected to be on the receiving end of heavy rains, with a high of 28 and a low of 24 degrees Celsius, according to the Meteorological Bureau of Shenzhen.

In response to the approaching storm, the Hong Kong Observatory issued the following notice this morning:

“The area of low pressure over the northern part of the South China Sea is intensifying gradually. A tropical depression appears to be forming. According to the present forecast, it will move west-northwest in the general direction of Hainan Island, maintaining a distance from Hong Kong. The heavy showers and squally thunderstorms associated with this area of low pressure will affect the coast of Guangdong in the next couple of days. Members of the public should be on the alert.”

It’s unclear whether or not the storm will have any impact on Guangzhou, as it currently looks set to graze Guangdong’s coastal regions before hitting Hainan and the northern region of Vietnam.

In South China, the annual typhoon season runs from May till December, although the majority of storms that land in Guangdong come between June and October. This year, Guangdong is not expected to receive any major storms until mid-July, and the last typhoon of the season is expected to make landfall before the end of September.

As a result of the heavy rains that have blanketed much of South China over the past weeks and months, authorities are reminding Guangdong citizens to exercise caution as typhoon season sets in, due to the increased risk of floods and landslides.

To find out how to track typhoons in real time, click here.

[Cover image via Pixabay]

▼ For more news, click 'Read more' (阅读原文) below.