This aerial photo taken on July 26, 2023 shows fishing boats taking shelter at a port in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Photo by Zeng Demeng/Xinhua)
FUZHOU, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Coastal provinces in east and south China have upgraded their typhoon emergency responses as Typhoon Doksuri moves closer.
The provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters in south China's Guangdong and east China's Fujian have raised the typhoon emergency response to Level II, the second-highest level, as Doksuri is expected to bring sustained rainstorms and strong gusts of wind.
The South China Sea forecasting and disaster reduction center under the Ministry of Natural Resources issued an orange wave warning at 4 p.m. Wednesday, as Doksuri is expected to whip up waves as high as 7 to 11 meters in Bashi Channel and the northeast waters of the South China Sea between Wednesday night and Thursday.
Doksuri is anticipated to be the strongest typhoon to impact eastern Guangdong in nearly a decade, the Guangdong provincial meteorological authorities added.
Local authorities have issued early warning information to the public, warning ships and workers operating in nearby seas to return to port in time to take shelter.
The railway station in the city of Shantou in Guangdong will suspend some high-speed train services from Wednesday to Sunday.
On Wednesday, east China's Zhejiang Province activated a Level-IV emergency response for the typhoon. So far, all 1,588 people involved in mariculture in Zhejiang have gone ashore, and all 15,603 fishing vessels have sought shelter in ports.
China's national observatory on Wednesday morning issued a red alert for Typhoon Doksuri, the most severe warning in its four-tier warning system, as the fifth typhoon of this year is expected to bring gales and heavy rain to the eastern and southern parts of the country.
The severe typhoon will most likely make landfall in the coastal areas of the city of Jinjiang in east China's Fujian Province and the bordering areas of Fujian and Guangdong provinces on Friday, the National Meteorological Center said in a statement.
Fujian is expecting Doksuri to bring heavy rainfall from Wednesday to Saturday and severe winds from Thursday to Friday.
Some scenic spots in the cities of Fuzhou, Xiamen and Quanzhou have been closed, and several passenger air routes and train services along the coast have been suspended. ■