China Activates Emergency Response As Typhoon Noul Makes Landfall

Beijing: China activated emergency relief measures on Sunday after Typhoon Noul made landfall in the southern province of Guangdong, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to much of the region. Typhoon Noul, the 12th hurricane to hit China this year, reached the coast of Guangdong early Sunday.

China’s National Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Relief Commission has activated the Level IV national disaster relief emergency response for Guangdong, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

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

Level-IV is the least serious level in the four-tier emergency response system. Level I is the most critical/severe.

A task force was dispatched to the affected areas to assess the situation and assist local authorities in relocating and relocating residents and meeting basic living needs.

The National Development and Reform Commission also allocated 100 million yuan (about US$14.7 million) from the central budget to support post-disaster recovery efforts in Guangdong.

The funds will primarily be used to repair damaged infrastructure, including roads, water conservancy facilities, schools and hospitals, and help resume normal production and daily life as soon as possible.

Before the typhoon made landfall, China’s national observatory on Saturday issued a red alert, the highest level in the country’s four-tiered color-coded typhoon warning system.

Emergency measures were also activated in Fujian, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, which cover much of eastern, central and southern China.

Authorities in Hong Kong launched emergency measures on Saturday as the typhoon approached. While more than 410 flights and 150 high-speed train services were canceled, the Ministry of Internal Affairs opened 28 temporary shelters in anticipation of the storm.