Eleven typhoons have formed in the Pacific and South China Sea so far this year, double the average for the period, and two are expected to make landfall in eastern and southern China over the next three days, the national meteorological authority has warned.
They will bring with them torrential rain and gales. The first, Typhoon Linfa, is set to reach the southern coastal stretch that includes parts of Guangdong and Fujian provinces on Thursday and will also affect Taiwan. It will bring heavy rain as it moves toward the southwest, Dong Lin, a typhoon expert at the China Central Meteorological Station, said on Wednesday.
Following closely behind is Typhoon Chan-hom, a more powerful storm system that is heading toward the eastern coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian and is expected to make landfall on Friday.
"It's larger and stronger," Dong said.
The diameter of its swirling clouds has already reached 1,500 kilometers, and experts expect it to grow stronger and become a super typhoon. There will be torrential rains when it reaches land, and wind speeds could reach 198 kilometers per hour, Dong added.
Eastern and southern provinces were battered by heavy downpours in June, the key period in China's flood season, said Zhang Zude, head of disaster prevention and public health at the China Meteorological Administration. Major cities such as Shanghai and Nanjing experienced severe flooding in downtown areas.
The rain from the two typhoons will increase the risk of more flooding, landslides and other natural disasters in coastal areas, Dong said. The meteorological station has stepped up its efforts to monitor the typhoons.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs has urged the local authorities in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Guizhou provinces, as well as Shanghai and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, to track the typhoons and give early warning information to the public.
A third typhoon, Nangka, has formed in the Northwestern Pacific but will not reach China, though tourists heading for Japan should be aware of it, Dong said.
The three typhoons have all lasted for at least five days, an occurrence she said was rare.
The average number of typhoons that form in the period from the start of the storm season in May until now is about five, the meteorological station said.
"It's more concentrated than before, as four typhoons formed in the two weeks from June 21, though in the month before then there were no typhoons at all," Dong said. "We cannot forecast whether there will be more typhoons this year."
