Chinese coastal province raises emergency response as Typhoon Kong-rey nears

FUZHOU -- East China's Fujian province on Thursday issued the second highest-level emergency response to Typhoon Kong-rey, the 21st typhoon of this year.

In anticipation of the storm's impact, railway and maritime authorities have suspended several train services and halted 71 coastal passenger ferry routes affecting 190 vessels. Meanwhile, 115 coastal construction projects have been stopped until further notice.

Specialized rescue forces, including rescue ships, helicopters, and patrol boats, have been deployed on standby to respond to potential emergencies, according to the Fujian maritime authorities.

There remains a possibility that Kong-rey could make landfall along the coasts of Fujian or Zhejiang provinces on its northeastward path, according to the National Meteorological Center.

The center issued an orange alert for Kong-rey on Thursday morning, warning that the storm will bring torrential rains to eastern areas, including Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu provinces, and Shanghai, from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon.

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.