Typhoon Saola lands in South China's Guangdong twice in a day
Typhoon Saola, the ninth typhoon of this year, made landfalls in south China's Guangdong Province twice on Saturday. Timely measures have been taken in the affected coastal regions to ensure the safety of locals.
China's national observatory renewed a top-level red alert for Typhoon Saola on the day.
The typhoon made its first landing on the southern coast of Guangdong's Zhuhai City at around 03:30 and later moved back to the sea.
At 13:50, it landed again on the Hailing Island in Guangdong's Yangjiang City.
It later weakened to a tropical storm.
In response to the gales and downpours brought by Saola on Friday night and Saturday morning, local governments of the affected regions formed special working groups to carry out emergency rescue and evacuation operations.
Following the weakening of the typhoon, production and life in Guangdong have returned to normal, with passenger train services, flights and ferries resumed.
Guangdong has downgraded its emergency response for typhoons from Level I to Level III.
"We will stay vigilant in typhoon defence work and strengthen inspections of medium and small rivers, geological hazards and urban areas prone to waterlogging to prevent secondary disasters," said He Shengzhuang, deputy director of the provincial Flood, Drought and Typhoon Control Headquarters of Guangdong.
According to the national observatory, Saola is expected to move into the Beibu Gulf off the coast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and continue to weaken.
China has a four-tier weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue; and a four-tier emergency response system for typhoons, with Level I being the highest response level.
