Chinese meteorological authorities plan to introduce a
color-coded weather warning system.
As of next month, warnings will be issued in 11 extreme weather
conditions including typhoons, rainstorms, heat and cold waves,
fog, sandstorms, lightning storms, gales, hailstorms, snowstorms
and road icing.
Warnings labeled blue, yellow, orange and red in an ascending
order matching national standards of seriousness will be issued
through the media. The standards are the first of their kind in
China, a meteorological official said Tuesday.
Zhang Guocai, a spokesman for the China Meteorological
Administration, said the warning system is part of an overall
system for disaster management.
The warnings will be issued alongside images and words in
Chinese and English and broadcast on TV, radio and sent to mobile
phones through short message service along with other possible
means of mass distribution like electronic billboards in downtown
areas.
"The system will help people prepare for and avoid the harm of
bad weather and enable them to know about impending calamities as
early as possible," said the spokesman.
"China must adopt a set of unified national criteria... to avoid
any confusion and misunderstandings from the public," Zhang
said.
Fujian, Shanghai and Guangzhou started similar warning systems
as early as March.
Shanghai took the lead with a three-level warning system that
signals weather in yellow, red and black according to the possible
force.
The hope is that the national system will set a benchmark for
local meteorological authorities to follow.
The administration released the pilot rules Tuesday in
Beijing.
A guide is also issued to help local authorities take
precautions against weather-related disasters such as typhoons and
heat waves.
For example, shops should remain closed and classes suspended if
typhoon warnings change from orange to red. A red level indicates
average wind force of 12 on the Beaufort scale and the possibility
of the typhoon striking within 6 hours.
Rainstorm intensity is classified in three degrees as yellow,
orange and red.
A red warning means emergency squads must be ready for rescue
operations as rainfalls are expected to reach 100 millimeters or
higher in 3 hours, creating the possibility of floods.
However, meteorological authorities in China's west and
northwest drought-prone regions will be allowed to work out their
own standards for rainstorm since conditions there are different
during the summer.
(China Daily August 25, 2004)