Megi, the 17th typhoon of 2016, made landfall in Fujian province on the morning of Sept 28 and brought torrential rains across Pingtan.

Local jurisdictions of Zhonglou, Yutou, Pingyuan, Tancheng, and Liushui suffered heavy downpours, with Zhonglou township seeing the largest at 156.2 millimeters from 8:00 pm Sept 27 to 8:00 am Sept 28. Meanwhile, Niushan Island, in the east of Pingtan, recorded wind speeds of up to 45.1 meters per second (14th grade).

Megi caused direct economic loss of 27.9 million yuan ($4.17 million) in Pingtan from damaged fish cages, flooded farm fields, collapsed houses and destroyed water conservancy facilities. After 6:00 pm, Sept 28, Megi's impact on Pingtan started to weaken as its center in western Fujian city Longyan moved northwest at 10 kilometers per hour.

Vice governor of Fujian Zhang Zhinan arrived in Pingtan on the morning of Sept 28 to organize emergency rescue and disaster relief work.

Zhang commented that Pingtan's preparation work had been thorough and was able to ensure the safety of people and fishing vessels. Zhang required all government departments to keep paying close attention to weather conditions, and do rush repairs on damaged roads, power facilities, and public gardens and parks.

All bus lines in Pingtan resumed normal operations on Sept 29. Intercity bus services to Fuzhou were restored as well, expect for those terminating at the Fuzhou North Terminal.

The 18th typhoon Chaba, named after a tropical flower, has generated in the northwest Pacific. Although it won't affect Pingtan over the next four days it will enter the East China Sea in the latter part of the National Day holiday (Oct 1 - 7).

Road menders make repairs after a street light was bent by strong winds at the entrance to the Niuzhaishan Tunnel. [Photo from ptnet.cn]