East China's Zhejiang province raises emergency response level for Typhoon Danas

Hangzhou, July 7 (IANS) East China's Zhejiang Province has elevated its typhoon emergency response to Level III at 10 a.m. Monday, as Typhoon Danas, the fourth typhoon of this year, moves closer.

According to the province's meteorological observatory, the centre of Typhoon Danas made landfall along the coast of Taiwan's Chiayi City in the wee hours on Monday. After making landfall, Danas continued to move northward.

At 7:00 a.m., its centre was located over the sea, approximately 258 km southeast of Wenzhou, Zhejiang. It is expected to make landfall again along the coast between Taizhou in Zhejiang and Fuzhou in neighboring Fujian Province, sometime between the afternoon and night of July 8.

From July 7 to 9, central and southern Zhejiang, as well as nearby coastal regions, are expected to receive total rainfall of 60 to 90 mm due to Danas, with precipitation in some areas potentially exceeding 350 mm.

Zhejiang has urged all coastal regions and departments to closely monitor the typhoon's path, strengthen joint consultations, and implement prevention measures in line with the contingency plan. These include sheltering ships, suspending sea routes and halting construction projects.

China's national observatory also renewed a yellow alert for Typhoon Danas as it is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain, Xinhua news agency reported.

China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather warning system for typhoons, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Earlier on July 6, South China's Guangdong Province launched an emergency response to Typhoon Danas -- the fourth typhoon of the year as counted by China's meteorological authorities -- as it intensified, with its center 230 kilometres southeast of Shantou packing winds of up to 36.9 metres per second at 8 a.m., local sources have said.

The provincial emergency management department reported that all 361 vessels that had been in vulnerable waters had returned to port by 2 p.m., and more than 2,000 people had been evacuated from offshore facilities. All five coastal tourist sites in the province have been closed.

Six rescue helicopters had been deployed across key cities, with 21 patrol ships and 64 emergency vessels on standby along the coast.

Meteorologists warn that eastern coastal areas would face heavy rains and gales. The local flood control headquarters had urged heightened vigilance against the impacts of severe weather.

--IANS

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