Xi urges beefed-up typhoon relief efforts, swift repairs

Vehicles negotiate a road covered in uprooted trees on Saturday in Haikou, Hainan province, after Super Typhoon Yagi barreled through parts of southern China on Friday. [Photo by ZHANG MAO / For China Daily]

President Xi Jinping has urged beefed-up disaster relief efforts after Super Typhoon Yagi struck southern China, with normal operations gradually resuming on Sunday.

Yagi, the 11th typhoon of the year, reportedly was the most powerful autumn typhoon to strike the Chinese mainland in more than 70 years. It made landfall twice on Friday, hitting Hainan province first and then Guangdong province.

Four people were killed in Hai­nan and 95 injured. No casualties were reported in Guangdong.

In an instruction released on Saturday, Xi called for mobilizing rescue efforts, handling well the relocation and resettlement of affected people, preventing secondary disasters, and making every effort to minimize casualties.

He also urged the swift repair of damaged infrastructure, including transportation, electricity and communication systems, and said that active post-disaster reconstruction is required to restore the normal order of life and work as soon as possible.

In its first landfall at around 4:20 pm on Friday, the typhoon struck Wengtian township in the city of Wenchang, packing winds of over 234 kilometers per hour, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The storm made its second landfall in Xuwen county in the city of Zhan­jiang, Guangdong, at around 10:20 pm Friday, Xinhua reported, quoting the provincial meteorological bureau.

In Guangdong, the storm had forced the relocation of nearly 730,000 people by noon on Saturday, according to the provincial flood, drought and typhoon control authorities.

Across Hainan, the typhoon has affected more than 526,100 people in 19 counties and cities.

The economic aftermath of the storm has eclipsed the impact of Super Typhoon Rammasun, which struck in 2014, with estimated losses exceeding 32.7 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) in Wenchang, the first landfall site, and about 26.3 billion yuan in direct economic losses in Haikou, the provincial capital, according to the Hainan provincial authority.

As the typhoon passed through Hainan, residents living in tall buildings experienced swaying, windows were shattered, and railings were blown off balconies. There were water and power outages, as well as interruptions of communication.

Wang Chen, a resident of Haikou, said she was very frightened when she saw her neighbor's windows blown away. Later, "I saw the fallen trees on the roads being quickly cleared. Water, electricity, communication and transportation services gradually resumed. I feel secure about the relief work and the recovery process", she said.

Transportation in the province was returning to normal on Sunday.

Haikou Meilan International Airport had resumed operations as of noon on Sunday, with just one terminal open to all inbound and outbound flights. Ports in Haikou, including Xinhai and Xiuying, resumed ferry services across the Qiongzhou Strait at 1 pm on Sunday. The eastern section of the Hainan high-speed railway loop resumed operations at 11 am on Sunday.

As of 6:30 pm on Sunday, 122 out of Haikou's 152 bus routes had resumed operation, while the remaining 30 routes were undergoing emergency restoration.

Zhao Youcheng, deputy secretary of the Party committee of Hainan Power Grid, said that with priority given to densely populated areas, 715 out of the 1,202 apartment complexes affected by power outages had electricity again as of Sunday, a restoration rate of 60 percent.

Chen Xingwu, deputy director of the Hainan Communications Administration, said on Sunday that telecommunication services across the province are expected to return to normal by Tuesday.

Hainan authorities called via social media on Sunday for everyone to participate in post-disaster reconstruction and work together to rebuild life.

Meanwhile, the China Meteorological Administration forecast heavy rainfall for some areas of Yunnan province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region from 8 am on Sunday to 8 am on Monday, raising the risk of flooding in these areas.