Harbin snaps into action as typhoon rages

To protect people's lives and property as Typhoon Doksuri passes over Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, the city's flood control and drought relief headquarters issued flood control emergency measures on Wednesday.

In major districts including Daoli and suburban regions, from 3 pm Wednesday to 3 pm Thursday, schools, kindergartens and educational institutions should suspend teaching.

Work at construction sites as well as outdoor operations will also be suspended. All tourist attractions, parks and outdoor entertainment venues are closed, as are long-distance passenger transports and ferries.

Rain has continued to fall in Harbin since early Tuesday and the city's meteorological observatory issued a red alert for rainstorm at 2:10 pm Wednesday.

From 2 am to 2 pm, the cumulative rainfall in most of the main urban areas has exceeded 100 millimeters, and 20 to 40 millimeters of precipitation are forecasted for the following six hours.

The rainfall caused severe waterlogging in some urban areas.

According to a report by CCTV News, after receiving a report at 11:30 am an underground passage near Central Avenue in Daoli district was flooded and needed emergency drainage, the Harbin Fire and Rescue Detachment immediately sent four fire trucks and 16 firefighters to the site.

After building an embankment, firefighters drained water into the Songhua River.