China issues orange alert as Typhoon Noul approaches southeastern coast

China’s National Meteorological Centre has issued an orange alert for Typhoon Noul, the 12th typhoon of the year, as the storm moves toward the southeastern coast of the country.

The alert, issued on July 24, is the second-highest level in China’s four-tier typhoon warning system. At 5 a.m. local time, the centre of Typhoon Noul was located about 560 kilometres northeast of Manila, the Philippines, over the sea, and was moving west-northwest at a speed of 25-30 kilometres per hour, according to meteorological authorities, Caliber.Az reports via Chinese media.

The typhoon is expected to make landfall between Zhuhai in southern Guangdong Province and Zhangpu in eastern Fujian Province from the night of July 25 to the morning of July 26. After reaching land, the storm is forecast to turn northward and gradually weaken.

Authorities have warned of heavy to torrential rainfall in parts of eastern and southern Taiwan Island from the morning of July 24 to July 25. Strong winds are also expected across the northeastern South China Sea, the Bashi Channel, waters east of Taiwan, the Taiwan Strait, the southern East China Sea, and coastal areas of Taiwan, Fujian and central and eastern Guangdong.

China’s State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has activated a Level-IV emergency response for typhoon and flood control measures in Guangdong and Fujian provinces, the Ministry of Emergency Management said.

Guangdong authorities have launched emergency preparations, including suspending passenger ferry services and halting vessel operations in affected areas. Thousands of offshore workers, including personnel from oil platforms, are being evacuated, with the process expected to be completed by noon on July 24.

Rescue ships, helicopters, tugboats and cleanup vessels have also been deployed to support emergency operations.

China’s typhoon warning system uses four colour-coded levels, with red indicating the highest threat, followed by orange, yellow and blue. The country’s flood-control emergency response system also consists of four levels, with Level I representing the most severe emergency.

By Vugar Khalilov