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Chinese authorities have evacuated more than 20,000 people and suspended railway services across parts of southern China as Typhoon Noul approaches the country’s southern coast, bringing the threat of torrential rain and gale-force winds.
China’s National Meteorological Center (NMC) said the typhoon is expected to make landfall between Saturday evening and Sunday morning along the coastal region stretching from Hong Kong to Guangdong Province. The agency maintained an orange typhoon alert, the second-highest warning level in its four-tier emergency system.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that over 20,000 residents had been moved to safer locations in Guangdong by late Friday. Fishing vessels operating in the province have also returned to port to shelter from the storm.
As a precaution, Guangdong authorities have suspended some railway services from Saturday morning, with all train operations across the province scheduled to be halted on Sunday. Schools in Chaozhou city have also suspended on-campus activities, according to local media.
The latest storm comes after a series of deadly weather events in southern and central China this month. Typhoon Maysak triggered severe flooding in Guangxi, killing 39 people, while the storm also unleashed powerful thunderstorms and gale-force winds in Hubei Province, leaving 11 people dead and 331 injured.
Scientists have warned that climate change is increasing both the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events worldwide as rising global temperatures, driven largely by fossil fuel emissions, fuel stronger storms and heavier rainfall.
China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 while continuing to expand its renewable energy capacity.