East China's Fujian goes all out to tackle Typhoon Doksuri

FUZHOU, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Professor Liu Jinhe has developed a new habit of checking his phone for the latest updates on Typhoon Doksuri every few minutes since he arrived in east China's Fujian Province.

Liu and his students from Peking University reached Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian, on Monday for a research trip. However, the approaching typhoon forced them to suspend their original plans.

The Fujian Meteorological Bureau's bespoke weather forecasting app provides the latest updates on the movements of Typhoon Doksuri, disseminating timely and accurate alerts for the public.

Effective 9 a.m. Thursday, Fujian raised the emergency response for typhoon to Level I, the highest alert level, as Super Typhoon Doksuri is expected to become the strongest typhoon to make landfall in the south of Fujian since 2017.

The typhoon, observed over the ocean about 410 km southeast of the south coast of Fujian at 10 a.m. Thursday, is expected to move northwest at a speed of around 15 km per hour with increased intensity, the Fujian Meteorological observatory said in a statement.

It will most likely make landfall in the coastal areas between Jinjiang city and Dongshan Island between morning and noon on Friday, according to the observatory.

Typhoon monitoring is conducted around the clock, employing a three-dimensional approach utilizing meteorological satellites, weather radar and automatic weather stations positioned on both land and sea, said Huang Zhigang, chief weather forecaster of Fujian Meteorological Bureau.

The meteorological bureau is taking proactive measures to enhance its services, including boosting precise typhoon monitoring and ramping up the frequency of dynamic forecasts for typhoons, risk alerts and defense guidelines, to ensure vital information reaches every citizen in a timely manner.

Huang pointed out that disaster prevention is a social activity, which needs the cooperation of various departments.

During a recent typhoon prevention consultation meeting, meteorological departments across the province strengthened their coordination with other departments such as emergency, marine, maritime, agriculture, natural resources, water conservancy, cultural and tourism, transportation, and energy.

As Super Typhoon Doksuri continues to bear down, Dongshan County, located on Dongshan Island, the second-largest island in Fujian, is bracing for the impact. Local authorities are intensifying efforts to call fishing boats back to port and evacuate crews aboard.

The local government is actively utilizing platforms such as WeChat, text messaging and cloud broadcasting to ensure fishermen and aquaculture farmers are well-informed about the impending storm, while coastal tourist sites and beaches are also ramping up their safety measures.

More than 6,800 local vessels in Dongshan County have already returned to the harbor, and all 2,218 people involved in coastal aquaculture have been safely evacuated.

The local fire department has also assembled teams in advance, and they are conducting round-the-clock inspections of emergency rescue equipment such as assault boats and drainage devices, as part of their ongoing preparations for potential flood control and typhoon response.

A batch of food supplies arrived at the Fujian Meteorological observatory for those working overtime during the typhoon.

The looming typhoon has necessitated constant monitoring, increased personnel and heightened efforts, and the preparations to combat the impacts of Typhoon Doksuri are already well underway, said Lin Qing, deputy director of the observatory. Enditem

(Huang Lingli and Zhang Fan also contributed to the story)