Affected by multiple factors including global warming, Shenzhen is expected to experience stronger typhoons this year, earlier than previous years, a senior meteorologist said at a news conference Saturday afternoon.
During this year’s flood season, the city will also see more rainfalls in the later period of the year, as well as more frequent thunderstorms and concentrated heavy rain, Lan Hongping, deputy director of the Shenzhen Municipal Meteorological Bureau, said at the conference.
The bureau will closely monitor weather changes and make full use of its warning systems to ensure public safety, Lan said.
Guangdong Province officially entered this year’s flood season March 27, according to the city’s emergency management bureau.
Shenzhen is a megacity prone to frequent natural disasters. To disseminate knowledge and enhance citizens’ awareness on disaster prevention and mitigation, as well as self-help and mutual rescue capabilities, the city is holding the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Week until Friday, the 15th National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Day, which was instituted in 2009 after the devastating earthquakes in Sichuan and neighboring provinces in 2008.
The Emergency First Responder Team established in Shenzhen is playing a vital role in disaster prevention and mitigation, according to Yang Jinshan, deputy director of the Shenzhen Municipal Emergency Management Bureau. The team is composed of volunteers who can carry out initial emergency handling work before professional emergency rescue teams arrive at the scene of disasters and accidents, serving as an important auxiliary force for grassroots emergency rescue teams.
In 2022, Shenzhen trained 10,538 qualified emergency first responders to cover residential compounds, big shopping malls, schools and other key venues across the city. It plans to train at least 20,000 emergency first responders this year, and by 2025, the city will have at least 100,000 emergency first responders, according to information released at the briefing.
Shenzhen Water Authority has also made efforts to prevent and control urban waterlogging and improve flood prevention and emergency management. The authority said it has eliminated 545 waterlogged sites to solve citizens’ travel problems. Citizens are advised to avoid approaching waters and tourist destinations prone to disasters.
At present, Shenzhen has 520 sites with hidden geological hazards, of which all large or extra-large sites have been eliminated, and seven medium-sized dangerous sites have been included in the management plan. The remaining 513 sites that pose small geological disasters have been either under automatic monitoring or incorporated into a mass monitoring system, according to the Shenzhen Municipal Planning and Natural Resources Bureau.
Moreover, Shenzhen’s fire and rescue team has focused on building a five-minute fire and rescue circle and 424 small-sized fire stations have been built so far to achieve unified alarm reception, dispatch and command in a bid to enhance urban fire safety, according to the news briefing.
Strong thunderstorms strike
STRONG thunderstorms accompanied by high winds and torrential rains hit Shenzhen yesterday.
It will be cloudy today with showers, and will be cool in the morning and evening, according to Shenzhen Meteorological Observatory.
From tomorrow to Friday, the weather will be cloudy and sunny. Starting Saturday, it will be cloudier with occasional showers, the observatory said.