Coastal China prepares for typhoon's arrival

Measures are being introduced to brace for the Typhoon Doksuri in coastal Zhejiang, Guangdong and Fujian provinces.

Major scenic spots and swimming beaches have been closed, while many passenger trains operating in coastal cities that could be hit by Doksuri have been temporarily suspended to avoid accidents, local authorities said.

Doksuri, the fifth typhoon to hit the Chinese coast this year, was upgraded to a super typhoon on Monday night. It was moving closer to the Chinese mainland at a speed between 10 and 15 kilometers per hour on Wednesday, the national observatory said on Thursday after releasing the first red typhoon warning this year — the most severe category.

Meanwhile the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has upgraded its typhoon emergency response to Level III, the third-highest level, and it dispatched four working groups to Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces to guide local governments in their preparations for floods that may be triggered by heavy rains, according to a media release from the Ministry of Emergency Management.

More than 4,000 rescuers, along with five helicopters, have been mobilized to stand by for emergencies in the four provinces, the release said.

The typhoon had been expected to enter the northeastern part of the South China Sea between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning and then make landfall in coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong provinces on Friday morning, it said.

In Guangdong province, the Flood Control, Drought Relief and Anti-Typhoon Headquarters upgraded its anti-typhoon emergency posture to Level 2 on Thursday and ordered all fishing vessels to return to typhoon shelters.

All fishermen and offshore workers were told to go ashore, according to a statement released by the headquarters on Thursday.

The cities of Shenzhen, Shantou, Shanwei, Meizhou and Huizhou in eastern Guangdong have been ordered to prepare to cope with disasters in coming days — flooding, mountain torrents, mudslides and breaches — and to prevent them if possible to minimize casualties and economic losses.

Some passenger trains running across the typhoon zone, as well as inter-province coastal train services between Guangdong and Zhejiang, were suspended as of Thursday.

In Fujian province, which is likely to be hit by Doksuri, 183 coastal passenger ferries, including four passenger ferry routes of Mini Three Links between Fujian's coastal cities and Taiwan-managed Kinmen island and the Matsu island group were suspended at 10 am on Thursday.

Construction of 98 offshore projects has been suspended after 1,681 offshore workers were ordered to go ashore, local authorities said.