Haikou, June 13 Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated to safety in south China's Hainan Province as Typhoon Wutip, the first typhoon of the year, approaches near.
As of 8 p.m. Thursday, the province had evacuated a total of 16,561 people from construction sites, low-lying flood-prone areas, and regions at risk of flash floods.
All the province's 30,721 fishing vessels had either returned to ports or taken shelter elsewhere, with over 40,000 people working on the vessels having been evacuated ashore.
As Typhoon Wutip continued to strengthen, the provincial meteorological service maintained a Level III typhoon alert as of 11 a.m. Friday.
As of 10 a.m. on Friday, the storm's centre was located over coastal waters near Ledong Li Autonomous County, with maximum sustained winds near the centre reaching 28 metres per second.
According to meteorological forecasts at noon, Typhoon Wutip is expected to move northward at a speed of 5 to 10 kilometres per hour, with little change in intensity.
Wutip may make landfall or brush the coast between Ledong county and Dongfang City on Friday as a severe tropical storm, packing winds of 25 to 28 metres per second, Xinhua news agency reported.
Twelve crew members were also rescued from a ship in south China's island province of Hainan as Typhoon Wutip approaches, said local authorities.
The Nanhai Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Transport received messages on Thursday evening that, due to Wutip, 12 people on a cargo ship about 14 nautical miles (about 26 kilometres) off a headland in southwestern Hainan needed evacuation.
The rescue vessel departed at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and arrived at the site at 11:50 p.m., where gales generated waves as high as three meters. Rescuers managed to lift those crew members to safety 43 minutes later, and they are expected to return to an anchorage at noon on Friday.
The evacuees will stay on the rescue vessel, where they will be provided with daily necessities and medical services. They will be taken ashore when weather permits.
All kindergartens, schools, construction sites and tourist attractions in Sanya have been closed. Ships are prohibited from sailing, and Sanya airport suspended all flights from 10 p.m. Thursday. High-speed rail services across Hainan have been halted, with operations expected to resume on Saturday.
The Nanhai Rescue Bureau is closely monitoring Wutip, with seven rescue vessels and four helicopters on standby to respond to emergencies.
Wutip, the first typhoon to make landfall in China this year, developed over the South China Sea on Wednesday, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).
In recent summers, China has faced a series of extreme weather events, ranging from intense heatwaves and droughts to heavy rainfall and flooding.
As the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, China also leads in renewable energy development and has committed to achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2060.
Last August, torrential rains brought by Typhoon Gaemi — which tracked from the Philippines and Taiwan before hitting eastern China — resulted in at least 30 fatalities and left many others missing.
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