China expects above-average typhoon activity in July

[Photo: Xinhua]

China is expected to see more typhoons making landfall or affecting the country’s coastal areas during July than in previous years, according to National Climate Center (NCC) forecasts.

Four to six typhoons are expected to form in the northwestern Pacific and the South China Sea in July, with two to three likely to make landfall or affect China’s coastal areas, higher than the average of 1.8 during the same month in previous years, the NCC said.

There is also a risk that relatively strong typhoons will move northward to affect North China, according to Yuan Jiashuang, deputy director of the NCC.

Yuan advised relevant departments to formulate emergency plans in advance to guard against disasters such as heavy rain, flooding, gales and storm surges brought by typhoons.

Maysak, the first typhoon to hit China this year, has brought gales and torrential rains to southern coastal areas in recent days, after making landfall on the coast of southern province of Hainan.

In South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, many parts have experienced persistent extreme heavy rainfall, with 24-hour precipitation exceeding 700 millimeters in certain regions.

Now weakened into a tropical depression, what is left of Maysak continues to push northward, bringing persistent heavy rainfall from the southern coast to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Huanghuai region, according to National Meteorological Center (NMC).

Following Maysak, Super Typhoon Bavi, formed on July 2, is likely to make landfall on the country’s eastern coast, the NMC forecast, noting that starting today, Bavi will bring strong winds and heavy rain to eastern China.

Experts have also warned that Bavi may push deep inland, with heavy rainfall reaching the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and even crossing the Yangtze to affect North China and the Huanghuai region, calling for relevant areas to take precautionary measures. Xinhua