More than 7,600 people have been evacuated from their homes near
the city of Ningbo in coastal province of Zhejiang as Typhoon Ewiniar remains hundreds
of kilometers offshore.
By 6?PM Saturday, 7,634 people have been moved to
schoolrooms or temporary shelters in Ningbo, a coastal city of
Zhejiang, said the provincial flood control headquarters
Saturday.
Evacuations are also under way in other coastal cities of the
province, including Taizhou, Zhoushan and Wenzhou, according to the
provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters. Xinhua
reporters were unable to obtain the numbers of people affected by
these evacuations.
More than 8,000 ships have returned to harbors in Ningbo and
coastal Zhoushan City, said the headquarters.
The eye of Typhoon Ewiniar was about 780 km southeast of
Dinghai, an isle of the Zhoushan Archipelago in the East China Sea,
at 2?PM Saturday, said the Zhejiang Provincial Meteorological
Observatory.
The storm is tracking in a north-northwest direction at 10 to 15
km per hour, packing winds of about 162 km an hour, and is expected
to approach the offshore areas of Zhejiang Saturday night,
according to the provincial observatory.
The observatory says there is little chance the typhoon will
come ashore at Zhejiang but it is likely to bring strong winds
ranging from 80 to 180 kilometers an hour Saturday night and
Sunday.
The observatory predicts the typhoon will move north, staying
offshore of Zhoushan Sunday night or Monday morning, and into the
Yellow Sea, according to the Zhoushan observatory.
The Municipal Meteorological Observatory of Shanghai on Saturday
forecasts Ewiniar will begin to affect the metropolis on
Sunday.
The municipal flood control headquarters has issued an urgent
circular asking relevant organizations to be well prepared for the
advancing typhoon.
Typhoon Ewiniar formed on July 1 in the Pacific, east of the
Philippines.
In May and June, Typhoon Chanchu and Typhoon Jelawat hit south
China provinces, causing numerous deaths and huge property
losses.
(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2006)
