​Two Typhoons Making Hard Landfall in Parts of China!

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China's national observatory on Sunday issued a blue alert for Typhoon Hagupit, which is expected to bring gales and torrential rains to south China.

The typhoon, the fourth of this year, strengthened from a tropical depression Saturday evening and was observed at waters 800 km southeast of Cangnan County in east China's Zhejiang Province at 5 a.m. Sunday, with a maximum wind force of 64.8 km/h in the center, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.

A tropical depression strengthened into Typhoon Sinlaku at 3:00 PM on Saturday in the South China Sea, 20 km west of the coastal city of Sanya, in south China's Hainan Province.

The typhoon, the third of the year, has strengthened from a tropical depression Saturday afternoon and swept the coastal waters south of the city of Sanya before heading to the Beibu Gulf, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) reports.

The center expected the typhoon to continue to move northwestward at a speed of 15 km per hour and make landfall on the northern coast of Vietnam Sunday afternoon, where it will start to weaken.

Meanwhile, the center warned that another tropical depression, currently southeast of the eastern Zhejiang Province, is likely to move northwest at a speed of 20 km per hour and strengthen into the fourth typhoon of the year in the next 24 hours.

That typhoon is expected to land on the coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian Monday night and quickly weaken thereafter according to the NMC.

From Saturday evening to Sunday evening, gales are expected to hit the Qiongzhou Strait, the Beibu Gulf, parts of the East China Sea and the South China Sea, as well as some sea areas near Taiwan, the Xisha Islands, Hainan, Guangdong, and Guangxi.

Within that same timeframe, the Xisha Islands and parts of Hainan, Guangdong and Guangxi will experience heavy rains, with some areas experiencing downpours of up to 150 mm.

The Ministry of Emergency Management, having arranged disaster-relief works for Typhoon Sinlaku, said the rainstorms in south China could continue till next Thursday and impact other parts of the country.

The ministry urged local authorities to pay high attention to floods and typhoon prevention works, strengthen monitoring and early-warning systems, prepare for the potential relocation of disaster-hit residents, and comb out safety loopholes to safeguard the lives of people.

The typhoon center is sweeping the southern coast of Hainan at a speed of 25 km per hour northwestward before heading to the Beibu Gulf.

The provincial emergency response department warned authorities in Lingshui and Sanya to call back vessels, as there will be big waves up to three meters high along the coast.

Ferry traffic at Qiongzhou Strait was suspended at 6:00 PM on Friday. The Sanya Phoenix International Airport has canceled outgoing flights, while inbound flights have remained unaffected.

Source: xinhua

Editor: Crystal H

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