China renews most severe alert for Typhoon Doksuri

Trees overturned by wind are pictured in Siming District of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, July 28, 2023. Typhoon Doksuri, the fifth typhoon of this year, made landfall in east China's Fujian Province on Friday morning, bringing with it powerful winds and heavy rain. (Photo by Zeng Demeng/Xinhua)

BEIJING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China's national observatory on Friday renewed 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 typhoon landed in coastal areas of Jinjiang City in east China's Fujian Province at around 9:55 a.m. Friday, bringing gales of up to 50 meters per second near its center.

Typhoon Doksuri is the second-strongest typhoon to create a landfall in Fujian Province since 1949, said the National Meteorological Center, adding that the typhoon weakened at 3 p.m. Friday, with the winds around the eye of the storm abating to 33 meters per second.

Doksuri is expected to move northwestward, gradually weakening in intensity, with a speed of 30 km per hour. It will enter eastern China's Jiangxi Province on Saturday morning, the center added.

Some coastal areas around the Bashi Channel, the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, as well as coastal regions of Taiwan, Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong, among others, will experience gales from Friday morning to 8 a.m. Saturday, according to the center.

During this period, parts of the provincial-regions of Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi and Taiwan will experience heavy rain and some areas in Zhejiang and Fujian will see heavy downpours of 250 to 280 mm, the center said.

From Thursday afternoon to Tuesday, regions in eastern China are expected to experience torrential rain due to the influence of Typhoon Doksuri and its circulation, said the center, warning that the provincial regions of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Henan should brace for heavy downpours of up to 500 mm.

The meteorological center has issued an advisory suspending both indoor and outdoor gatherings, as well as dangerous outdoor operations, and recommended the timely transfer of people living in vulnerable housing.

It has also called for emergency typhoon preparations and precautions against possible geological disasters.

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

The Ministry of Transport has activated a level-one typhoon response, the highest of its kind.

As of 8 a.m. Friday, there had been no reports of highway water damage caused by the typhoon or large-scale traffic congestion, said the ministry.

All expressways in Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian Province have been temporarily closed, the ministry said. 

Trees swing amid strong wind in Siming District of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, July 28, 2023. Typhoon Doksuri, the fifth typhoon of this year, made landfall in east China's Fujian Province on Friday morning, bringing with it powerful winds and heavy rain. (Photo by Zeng Demeng/Xinhua)

Police officers are on duty on a waterlogged road in Siming District of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, July 28, 2023. Typhoon Doksuri, the fifth typhoon of this year, made landfall in east China's Fujian Province on Friday morning, bringing with it powerful winds and heavy rain. (Photo by Zeng Demeng/Xinhua)

Trees broken by wind are pictured in Siming District of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, July 28, 2023. Typhoon Doksuri, the fifth typhoon of this year, made landfall in east China's Fujian Province on Friday morning, bringing with it powerful winds and heavy rain. (Photo by Zeng Demeng/Xinhua)

A bus station damaged by wind is pictured in Siming District of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, July 28, 2023. Typhoon Doksuri, the fifth typhoon of this year, made landfall in east China's Fujian Province on Friday morning, bringing with it powerful winds and heavy rain. (Photo by Zeng Demeng/Xinhua)