China activates emergency response to floods in four provinces as typhoon Gaemi hits

BEIJING, July 26 -- The Ministry of Emergency Management on Friday activated a Level-IV emergency response to floods in the four provinces of Guangdong, Shandong, Henan and Hubei, as well as raising the emergency response from Level-IV to Level-III in the northeastern province of Liaoning in the wake of Typhoon Gaemi.

The ministry said that Typhoon Gaemi was traveling further inland and northward after it made landfall at Xiuyu District in the city of Putian, Fujian Province, in east China on Thursday night.

It said that joint consultations among different government departments continued on Friday regarding the typhoon's impact on rains, as well as the targeted preparedness measures that need to be taken in coping with floods in provinces including Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Liaoning.

"Typhoon Gaemi is moving deeper inland and northward, bringing heavy rainfall to the central and eastern parts of the country. Some small and medium-sized rivers have experienced floods above the warning level, and the flood control situation is severe and complicated," according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

"We must give full play to the overall coordination and leading role of the flood control headquarters, and urge relevant departments to perform their duties and cooperate closely," the headquarters said.

It ordered continuous updates on monitoring, forecasting and warning on the typhoon so as to avoid casualties, and called for strengthened efforts in removing hidden dangers and implementing emergency measures to ensure safe operations.

It also called for strengthened efforts on disaster relief and the allocation of disaster relief materials in a timely manner in disaster-stricken areas.

China has a four-tier emergency response system for flood control, with Level I being the most urgent response, and a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

At 6 p.m. Friday, the Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration also jointly issued a red alert, the highest level of warning, for mountain torrents in parts of Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangdong from 8 p.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Saturday. In eastern areas of Fujian Province, mountain torrents will be highly likely, according to the alert.

At present, nine working teams dispatched by the ministry are assisting and guiding flood prevention work in different provinces, it said.

The National Meteorological Center on Friday also warned of medium-to-high disaster risks induced by the typhoon in at least eight provinces, including Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi, calling attention to possible damage as a result of secondary disasters and severe convection weather.

Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing on Friday called for high vigilance against floods, emphasizing that people's safety must always come first.

He stressed ensuring that all responsibilities are thoroughly enforced, implementing targeted measures, and fortifying disaster defenses to win the battle against floods.

As of 6 a.m. Friday, about 628,600 people in Fujian had been affected by the typhoon, with some 290,000 residents temporarily relocated so far, said local authorities.

China has allocated 66 million yuan (about 9.26 million U.S. dollars) of funds to support the urgent restoration of roads damaged by rain-triggered floods and geological disasters, according to the Ministry of Finance.

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