Tropical Storm Linfa makes landfall

• Source: Global Times
• [07:48 June 22 2009]
• Comments

Emergency measures taken

After Linfa developed Thursday afternoon, the China Meteorological Administration issued a level-III (orange) emergency alert and measures have been taken since Saturday, such as recalling fishing boats and suspending cargo-ship services temporarily.

An emergency alarm was issued by the FMO and, as a result, the port of Xiamen in Fujian Province closed all operations yesterday.

The route between Xiamen and Kinmen in Taiwan was closed temporarily for the first time as a result of a typhoon, Xinhua reported.

An official at the Dongdu Frontier Inspection Station in Xiamen, told the Times, on condition of anonymity that there was no confirmation of when the port would reopen, “but as Xiamen and Taiwan are so near, ferry services could easily resume as soon as the weather gets better.”

According to China National Radio, the high school entrance exam in Fujian was conducted smoothly over the weekend after the local education department adopted emergency measures in cooperation with police and firefighters. Extra buses were dispatched to carry the examinees to the exam sites.

Cross-Straits cooperation in preparation for the storm has also been launched. Taiwan and Fujian provinces released sounding balloons in a synchronized fashion to monitor Linfa on Saturday, just one day after the signing of the 2009 Cross-Straits Meteorological Observation Experimental Protocol.

“The signing of the protocol is proof that the exchange between Fujian and Taiwan has progressed from a civilian cultural exchange level to a real cooperation phase,” said Chen Tairan, vice president of Taiwan University, who attended the launch ceremony.

Linfa is expected to make landfall in Taiwan. The Central News Agency said, four people were injured by the gales from the storm.

And schools and offices were closed yesterday in Penghu, about 50 km west of Taiwan and in the afternoon in Kinmen, the National Fire Agency said.

China experiences dozens of hurricanes and tropical storms every year, inflicting great damage and economic losses.

Three tropical storms had occurred in the South China Sea as of Thursday.

“Typhoons came late this year, meaning that more energy may be accumulated, and we can’t exclude the possibility of much stronger storms,” Xu Jinjing, at Fujian Meteorological Center, told a local newspaper in Xiamen.

An Baijie and Zhang Han contributed to this story