This year’s 13th typhoon, “White Dolphin,” is approaching the coast of China and may make landfall from Sunday night (August 9) to early Monday morning (10th) along the coastal area between Zhoushan, Zhejiang and Fuding, Fujian. Fujian is making every effort to defend against the typhoon, and as of Saturday evening (8th), more than 90,000 people have been evacuated and relocated.
According to China News Service citing a report from the Fujian Provincial Flood Control Office, as of 6 pm on Saturday, a total of 98,900 people across the province have been evacuated and relocated. Among them are 103 sea fishing boats with 829 people, 59,200 township vessels with 60,800 people, and all 18,000 people from marine fish farming rafts north of Quanzhou have been evacuated.
At 4 pm on Saturday, the center of White Dolphin was about 450 kilometers east-southeast of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. The Fujian Provincial Meteorological Station predicts that White Dolphin will move west-northwestward at a speed of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour and may make landfall along the coast between Zhoushan, Zhejiang and Fuding, Fujian from Sunday night to early Monday morning.
White Dolphin is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain to the Fujian coast. According to the Provincial Flood Control Office, all 115 marine water conservancy projects across the province have been suspended, and 290 construction vessels have been relocated to safe waters. In Ningde, Fuzhou, and Pingtan, all vessels under 3,000 gross tons (60 ships, 291 people) have been evacuated, and all 55 ferry routes in major affected sea areas have been suspended.
The China Railway Nanchang Group Co., Ltd. announced that, due to the impact of White Dolphin, passenger trains operating on several route sections will be suspended from Sunday through Monday.
Affected trains include D3104 Putian to Shanghai Hongqiao, G1608 Xiamen North to Hangzhou East, D3302 Xiamen North to Ningbo, D3102 Fuzhou to Shanghai Hongqiao, D3296 Wuping to Nanjing South, D3324 Jingdezhen North to Shanghai Hongqiao, D158 Fuzhou to Quzhou, D6205 Fuzhou South to Putian, etc., involving the Quzhou-Ningde Railway, Hangzhou-Shenzhen Railway (Fuding to Fuzhou South), Shanghai-Kunming Railway, Feng-Fu Railway, and others.
The Fujian Provincial Flood Control Office also requires localities to strengthen safety management of returning vessels, offshore working platforms, and marine or island tourism, as well as to reinforce coastal aquaculture facilities in a timely manner. Authorities are also required to guard against secondary disasters triggered by typhoon-induced heavy rains, and to organize timely evacuation of people from riverside low-lying areas and places susceptible to geological hazards.