As China braces for Super Typhoon Saola, Guangdong party boss calls for ‘near-war state’ to combat storm

Provincial Communist Party chief Huang Kunming urges officials to ‘ensure that no family or individual is left behind’ and protect lives and property

Tropical cyclone is expected to make landfall along the province’s southern coast between Friday night and Saturday morning, bringing heavy rain

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Fishing boats take shelter from approaching Super Typhoon Saola at a port in Shanwei, Guangdong province on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 2:12pm, 1 Sep 2023Updated: 7:19am, 2 Sep 2023

Guangdong’s top official called for a “near-war state” as the southern province braced for the arrival of Super Typhoon Saola.

Huang Kunming, the Communist Party chief of Guangdong, made the comments at a meeting of senior provincial officials on Thursday night, according to the Nanfang Daily.

Huang said authorities in Guangdong should “stand by and make every effort to win the tough battle against the typhoon and effectively safeguard the lives and property of the people”.

Huang, also a member of the Politburo, asked officials to relocate people as soon as possible to “ensure that no family or individual is left behind”.

“Typhoon Saola is approaching and will bring strong winds, torrential rain, huge waves and other adverse impacts to the province, with a high risk of serious disasters,” Huang said.

China’s National Meteorological Centre (NMC) maintained its highest red alert for the typhoon on Friday morning and forecast that Saola would make landfall along the southern coast of Guangdong between Friday night and Saturday morning.

The NMC added that heavy rain would fall in eastern and southern Guangdong and the southeastern part of neighbouring Fujian province between Friday morning and Saturday morning.

The Guangdong government raised its typhoon emergency response to the highest level on Thursday.