Emergency response activated in China's Guangdong as Typhoon Podul approaches

GUANGZHOU, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- South China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday activated a Level-IV emergency response to Typhoon Podul as it moves closer, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

Podul, the 11th typhoon of this year, was located over the northwest Pacific Ocean at 8 a.m. Tuesday, about 730 kilometers southeast of Taitung, China's Taiwan region, according to Guangdong's meteorological observatory.

The maximum wind speed near Podul's center was 30 meters per second, accompanied by a central minimum pressure of 980 hectopascals.

The typhoon is expected to make landfall on Taiwan's southeast coast around midday on Wednesday.

It is likely to pass through the island and enter the Taiwan Strait at a reduced intensity, and to make second landfall along the coast from the southern part of east China's Fujian Province to the eastern part of Guangdong between Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

From Wednesday night to Thursday, Podul is forecast to bring rainstorms to many areas of Guangdong.

China has a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe. ■