Typhoon Wutip makes second landfall in China

Guangzhou, June 14 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Typhoon Wutip, the first typhoon of this year, made its second landfall near Leizhou City in south China’s Guangdong Province at around 12:30 a.m. (local time) on Saturday, according to the provincial meteorological observatory.

At the time of landfall, Wutip had weakened to a severe tropical storm, with a maximum wind speed of 30 metres per second near its centre and a central minimum pressure of 980 hectopascals.

Wutip had initially made landfall near Dongfang City in south China’s island province of Hainan around 11 p.m. on Friday.

It is expected to move northeast at a speed of 20 to 25 km per hour, skirting the border area between Guangdong and Guangxi, while gradually weakening in intensity, Xinhua news agency reported.

Tens of thousands of people had been evacuated to safety in south China’s Hainan Province as Typhoon Wutip, the first typhoon of the year.

As of 8 p.m. Thursday, the province had evacuated a total of 16,561 people from construction sites, low-lying flood-prone areas, and regions at risk of flash floods.

All the province’s 30,721 fishing vessels had either returned to ports or taken shelter elsewhere, with over 40,000 people working on the vessels having been evacuated ashore.

Wutip, the first typhoon which made landfall in China this year, developed over the South China Sea on Wednesday, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).

In recent summers, China has faced a series of extreme weather events, ranging from intense heatwaves and droughts to heavy rainfall and flooding.

As the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, China also leads in renewable energy development and has committed to achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2060.

Last August, torrential rains brought by Typhoon Gaemi — which tracked from the Philippines and Taiwan before hitting eastern China — resulted in at least 30 fatalities and left many others missing.

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