500,000 evacuated as Typhoon Sarika hits Hainan
Print Edition
TYPHOON Sarika lashed China’s southern resort island of Hainan yesterday, with torrential rain and winds of up to 162 kilometers per hour, forcing authorities to evacuate almost half a million people and halt transport services.
Sarika, the 21st typhoon of the year, made landfall in Hainan at 9:50am in Wanning City’s Hele Town, the local meteorological bureau said.
The National Meteorological Center issued a red alert, its highest level.
Those evacuated included fishermen and residents in low-lying areas and unsafe houses, said Ding Sheng, a disaster relief official with the Hainan Civil Affairs Department.
The department has sent relief materials such as tents, quilts, food and water to affected areas, he said.
Authorities in coastal Wanning said more than 137,000 residents had been evacuated from the city.
At the island’s main airport, Meilan International Airport in provincial capital Haikou, 250 flights were canceled yesterday morning, authorities said.
High speed train services had been halted from Monday.
Traffic police said gales and wet roads had caused a bus carrying 45 people to overturn on one of Hainan’s main highways on Monday night but there were no casualties.
In Wanning’s Dongxing Village, 31 cattle were found electrocuted yesterday after a high-voltage line above the animals’ shed broke.
The farmer’s family had been evacuated to a safe place on Monday evening.
Provincial meteorological station chief Cai Qinbo previously predicted losses from the typhoon would be “grave,” as the cyclone was projected to be the most powerful and destructive to land in Hainan in a decade.
In the period from 8am on Monday to 10am yesterday, 97 townships in Hainan reported rainfall of more than 100 millimeters. Three townships — in Wanning, Qiongzhong and Wenchang — received more than 300mm, according to the provincial meteorological station.
Classes have been suspended in kindergartens, middle and primary schools in eight counties in the province, and tourist sites are closed to the public. Residents and tourists have been warned against visiting the island’s beaches.
Authorities have also ordered safety checks of reservoirs and power and water supplies, while urging the fishery and farming sectors to take precautions against the storm.
To brace for Sarika, some coastal scenic spots in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were closed yesterday. Nearly 8,000 tourists from Guangxi’s Weizhou Island were evacuated on Monday.
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