East China braced for typhoon onslaught

• Source: Global Times
• [02:16 September 01 2010]
• Comments

A cyclist riding along famous West Lake in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, one of the areas that have been affected by the tropical storm No.7 Kompasu. Photo: CFP

By Fu Wen

The China Meteorological Center continued to issue its typhoon alert at 10 am Tuesday as three tropical cyclones gathered around the coastal area of East China.

The three tropical cyclones would bring heavy rainstorms to several provinces in East China within 24 hours, including Zhejiang, Shandong, Jiangsu and Fujian, weather reports said.

The Center asked all ships and staff working on the ocean to return to port, and called for a halt to work at heights and large-scale outdoor gatherings.

Tropical storm No.7 Kompasu moved toward the East China Sea at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour Tuesday, which will result in torrential rainstorms for Shanghai.

Fujian Province was bracing itself to fight two tropical storms at the same time.

No.8 Namtheun landed in northern Fujian last night and No.6 Lionrock will land on the border of Fujian and Guangdong provinces late tomorrow, according to provincial weather reports.

The provincial flood control office in Fujian raised its typhoon prevention emergency response to level two from level one at 12 am Tuesday.

"It is very rare to see three tropical cyclones affecting coastal areas in East China at the same time. I haven't seen such a phenomenon in 10 years," Xiong Jiheng, an official at the flood control office of the water conservation bureau in Xiamen, Fujian, told the Global Times Tuesday.

"The provincial flood control office issued an order Tuesday asking all fishing boats to return to port by 6 pm today. All elderly people, women and children must be ashore by then," said Xiong.

"Government officials will oversee an inspection tomorrow to eliminate any potential danger for some low-lying areas in the city of being flooded when the typhoon comes," Xiong added.