China raises flood response in Guangdong, Hainan as typhoon nears

BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) — China’s Ministry of Water Resources on Thursday raised its emergency response to floods in Guangdong and Hainan from Level-IV to Level-III to cope with the impact of Typhoon Yagi.
The typhoon is expected to make landfall along the coastal areas from Qionghai in Hainan to Dianbai in Guangdong between Friday afternoon and evening, the ministry said.
Due to the typhoon, heavy rainfall will batter parts of Hainan and Guangdong from Friday to Sunday, causing some rivers in the two provinces to exceed warning levels or experience major flooding, according to the ministry.
The ministry has instructed local water resources departments to strengthen monitoring and early warning, focusing on the safety of reservoirs and other projects as well as the prevention of small and medium-sized river floods and mountain torrents to effectively protect people’s lives and property.
Currently, two working groups dispatched by the ministry are guiding the heavy rain and typhoon prevention work in Guangdong and Hainan. ■