Emergency management authorities in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces ordered ships and fishermen
in from the sea yesterday as Typhoon Kaemi approached the Chinese
mainland.
About 7,000 people working on coastal fishing rafts returned to
shore yesterday and another 30,000 were expected to find safe
harbor today.
Late yesterday, Kaemi was located 260 kilometers southeast of
Taiwan's Hualien, according to the Fujian provincial meteorological
station. The fifth typhoon to hit China this year, Kaemi was
packing winds of 111 kilometers an hour.
The eye of the storm was moving northwest at about 15 kilometers
an hour and was expected to hit the east coast of Taiwan late last
night or early today.
The storm is forecast to slam into Fujian Province tonight or
tomorrow morning, bringing strong wind and rainstorms.
Three thousand armed police have been stationed in the southeast
China province, ready to begin rescue and relief operations.
About 130 vans and 80 speedboats were provided for the rescue
teams along with 3,500 life vests and 2,000 buoys.
Rescue teams have undergone extensive training, focusing on how
to carry out emergency procedures in the dark.
The police are equipped with signal generators and waterproof
lights to ensure the safety of night operations.
Authorities said they have studied the possible routes Kaemi
might take and removed obstacles that could pose risks.
To keep reservoirs safe in Taizhou in east China's Zhejiang
Province, about 85 million cubic meters of water was released from
Friday to yesterday.
Driven by Kaemi, rainstorms and strong winds will hit Wenzhou,
Taizhou and Ningbo in Zhejiang tonight or tomorrow morning,
according to the Zhejiang meteorological station.
The province has ordered fishing boats to return to harbor as
soon as possible.
Bilis, the last typhoon to strike the mainland, caused heavy
rain and flooding that left 612 people dead and 208 missing across
China, the office of the National Natural Disaster Reduction
Committee reported yesterday.
(China Daily July 25, 2006)