Typhoon trials not over yet for S. China

Cities suspend transport services, schools as geological hazards warned

Typhoons Saola and Haikui have caused floods and geological disasters in southern and eastern provinces that have been on high alert as authorities further suspended railway transportation and schools.

Saola made landfall on Saturday in Guangdong province and Haikui was forecast to make a second landfall in coastal areas near the border of Guangdong and Fujian provinces on Tuesday, after it landed in Taiwan on Sunday.

The combined effects of the typhoons wreaked havoc on the southern regions of China, the National Meteorological Center said.

Guangdong and Fujian have been hit heaviest by the typhoons.

From Monday to Tuesday, all schools in Xiamen, Fujian province will be suspended due to the impact brought by Typhoon Haikui, the city's education bureau said.

On Sunday, the education bureau of Chaozhou city in Guangdong issued a notice that primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, nurseries and training institutions will suspend classes from Monday. Students who attend boarding schools will return after the rainstorm warning is lifted.

The Shanghai bureau of China Railway has suspended the operation of 47 passenger trains passing through Hangzhou in Zhejiang and Shenzhen in Guangdong starting from Monday.

Starting from Sunday, affected by Typhoon Haikui, Guangdong Railway Group was expected to suspend 391 trains, local media reported, adding that from Wednesday, the province will be affected by heavy rain until this weekend.

Affected by Typhoon Saola, the city of Luoding in Guangdong province experienced heavy rainfall on the weekend that flooded houses up to their second floors. Cars and trees were washed away by floodwaters, and firefighters used lifeboats to evacuate trapped people, Beijing News reported on Sunday.

By Saturday, 925,000 people had been evacuated in Guangdong province and floods had damaged 573 hectares of crops, local authorities said.

Affected by Typhoon Haikui, it is expected that on Tuesday there will be heavy rain in central and southern Fujian. The heavy precipitation areas overlap the previous ones and the center warned of secondary disasters such as flash floods, landslides and debris flows. It is expected that from Monday to Thursday, heavy rain will continue in eastern and southern Fujian and eastern Guangdong.

The center said that during this season it is not uncommon for multiple typhoons to exist together. According to statistics, from 2000 to last year, there were 62 coexistences of three typhoons in the Northwest Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, with the most happening in August.

The center said on Sunday that in the next 10 days, there will be one typhoon in the South China Sea and the western Pacific Ocean. September is still in the typhoon season and the power of autumn typhoons cannot be underestimated. The center has advised people in coastal areas to stay tuned to forecasts and early warning information.

lihongyang@chinadaily.com.cn