Rescue operations continue across China’s Guangdong Province as typhoon traps people

Rescue workers in multiple cities in south China’s Guangdong Province are working around the clock as Typhoon Chaba hit the province, causing severe flooding and disrupting people’s normal life.

Typhoon Chaba, the third of the year, landed in Guangdong on Saturday, with a maximum wind force of 12 grade (35 m/s) near its center.

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The typhoon broke down many trees in Yangxi County, Yangjiang City, and roads were blocked. Braving the violent rainstorm, local fire rescue personnel used chainsaws to cut the fallen trees into small sections, and dragged them off the roads. As of 18:00, the local fire department have dealt with 15 broken trees to ensure road safety and smoothness.

At around 13:00 Saturday, a private car in Yangchun City was washed into the river by the flood, and five people were trapped on the top of the car. Rescue workers jumped into the river, swam to the position of the trapped vehicle, and helped the people back ashore one by one.

Typhoon Chaba also hit Guangdong’s Zhanjiang City, causing heavy rainfall that severely disrupted civil aviation, railways and shipping.

Affected by the typhoon, all primary, middle and high schools and kindergartens in Zhanjiang were closed on Saturday. In addition, all flights at Zhanjiang Airport were canceled, all trains at the Zhanjiang West High-speed Railway Station were suspended, and shipping across the Qiongzhou Strait was suspended.

“At present, there are 187 ships, including 13 with high-risk goods, stranded at Zhanjiang Port. There are also more than 1,100 vehicles and more than 2,300 passengers stranded at the northern shore of the Qiongzhou Strait. After the typhoon weakens, we will organize the stranded ships to leave the port in a safe and orderly manner,” said Li Siqiang, director of Zhanjiang Maritime Safety Administration.

The typhoon also damaged a number of power grid lines in Zhanjiang and Maoming City. As of 16:00 on Saturday, more than 230,000 households suffered power outages.

Relevant departments dispatched personnel to carry out emergency repairs, and the restoration of power is underway.

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