By Staff Reporter
Copyright macaonews
City officials across the Greater Bay Area are finalising their preparations before the most powerful storm in the world this year hits the west Guangdong coast tomorrow.
With Super Typhoon Ragasa likely to make landfall between Yangjiang and Maoming, Huang Kunming, the party secretary of Guangdong, said the province needed to make the most of this window of opportunity before the storm strikes.
Trains across the province, including high-speed rail, will begin a gradual suspension of services from noon, with an all-day suspension in place throughout tomorrow.
Authorities in Zhuhai – the mainland Chinese city that immediately adjoins Macao – have suspended schools for today and tomorrow. Business, manufacturing, transport and trading have been winding down since noon.
In Shezhen, officials have ordered the evacuation of 400,000 people from coastal zones and flood-prone areas across the city to ensure safety. Schools have been suspended, and essential emergency supplies like food, water, and medicine are being stockpiled.
[See more: The Ultimate Macao Typhoon Survival Guide]
The nation’s tech hub has also stepped up public warnings and activated a high-level emergency readiness to prepare for possible major flooding and wind damage. Ferry services between Taipa, Shenzhen airport and Shenzhen’s Shekou district will be suspended for the next three days.
Officials in the provincial capital Guangzhou have meanwhile been warning of the risk of major rainfall, possible flooding, and severe wind damage from Tuesday through Thursday. Maritime operations have relocated over 10,000 coastal vessels to safe harbours, and city services – including ferries and some public transport – have been suspended or adjusted.
In Hong Kong, 60 kilometres from Macao across the Pearl River Estuary, the government has closed all schools, prepared for the likely suspension of hundreds of flights at Hong Kong International Airport, and advised most businesses to shut down.
Sandbags have been distributed in Hong Kong’s flood-prone areas, where residents have been advised to relocate temporarily.
