East China province braces for Typhoon Pulasan

HANGZHOU -- Authorities in East China's Zhejiang province have taken precautions against Typhoon Pulasan, the 14th typhoon of the year, which is expected to bring gales and rainstorms to the region.

At 9:30 am on Thursday, Zhejiang raised its emergency response for typhoon prevention to Level III.

In response, all 72 passenger ferry routes in Zhoushan city have been suspended. In Ningbo city, a total of 20 coastal construction projects have been halted, and 352 vessels involved in these projects have been moved to safe waters to take shelter.

According to local meteorological authorities, Typhoon Pulasan was located approximately 405 km southeast of Xiangshan county in Ningbo at 8 am on Thursday. It is forecast to move rapidly northwest at a speed of 40 to 45 km per hour, with its intensity gradually increasing.

China's National Meteorological Center renewed its yellow alert for Typhoon Pulasan on Thursday morning. The center said the typhoon is expected to make landfall on the coast of Zhejiang between Thursday afternoon and evening.

China has a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe response, and a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.