Residents walk on streets in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province in heavy rain on July 3, 2022, after typhoon Chaba made landfall in Guangdong. Chaba is the first typhoon to make landfall in China in 2022. Photo: cnsphoto

Chaba, the third typhoon of this year, reached the coastal area of Maoming, South China's Guangdong Province, on Saturday afternoon and is currently heading north. 

Chaba is moving northward but it is expected to continue to weaken in the near future, the China Meteorological Administration said on Sunday.

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region set its emergency response level to Level IV on Sunday morning. Chaba is expected to stay in Guangxi for a considerable amount of time and will likely have a relatively large impact, the Guangxi meteorological station added.

In the past days, Chaba had already caused at least three tornadoes in Guangdong.

China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Saturday night upgraded its emergency response for flood and typhoon control to Level III.

Gales of magnitude 6-7 with gusts of magnitude 8-9 will remain present off the coasts of most of the South China Sea, the Beibu Gulf in Guangdong and Guangxi from Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon. There will also be heavy rainfall and short-term heavy precipitation in parts of Guangdong, Guangxi and Central China's Hunan Province.

Chaba is expected to enter Hunan on Monday morning at tropical depression strength, and its storm effects will also continue to move to the north, the China Meteorological Administration said.

Anti-typhoon measures have been taken on all fronts at sea, in air and on land, the authorities said, focusing on ensuring vessels return to ports and offshore workers come ashore while relocating people in areas prone to geological disasters.

On Sunday, when a vessel was trying to resist typhoon Chaba near the city of Yangjiang in Guangdong, 27 people aboard went missing after the crane sank in waters, according to the provincial maritime search and rescue center. Search and rescue efforts are still underway.

Due to the influence of Chaba, the new Hong Kong Palace Museum, which is due to open to the public for the first time on Saturday, did not open as scheduled.

Typhoon Aere, the fourth typhoon of the year, is forecast to approach the East China Sea on Saturday night. Affected by Aere, there are still uncertainties about Chaba's route and the intensity of rainfalls it will cause, said the authorities, alerting of possible severe flood control challenges.

Global Times