SHANGHAI: China’s first typhoon of the year brought gales and rain to its southern coasts on Saturday July 2, as forecasters warned of record rainfall and high disaster risk in provinces such as Guangdong, the most populous in the country.
Typhoon Chaba, the Thai name for the hibiscus flower, was moving northwest at a speed of 15-20 km/h after the eye of the storm made landfall in the city of Maoming in the Guangdong on Saturday afternoon, the National Meteorological Center said in a statement.
Chaba, although medium in intensity and expected to lose strength over time, is likely to bring extremely heavy rains and could break the record for cumulative rainfall by pulling the monsoon rain belt in the region eastward. inland, said Gao Shuanzhu, the center’s chief forecaster.
“Abundant monsoon water vapor will bring intense torrential rains and huge cumulative rainfall of an extreme nature,” Gao said, predicting up to 600mm of cumulative rainfall in some areas.
Western Guangdong, where Chinese typhoons usually linger, eastern Guangxi Autonomous Region and the island province of Hainan are at risk, with torrential rains causing landslides, urban waterlogging and flooding , Gao said.
Hainan upgraded its emergency response to Level II, the second highest, on Saturday. It suspended rail service across the island and canceled more than 400 flights to and from the cities of Haikou and Sanya.