Repeated Assault: Saudel Strikes Eastern China Amid Heightened Alerts

Beijing, Sept 3 – The 18th tropical cyclone to hit China this year, Typhoon Saudel, made a third coastal impact on Fujian province early Thursday. Near the eye, the provincial weather station logged a maximum continuous wind of 23 m/s as the storm reached the shores of Zhangpu County, Zhangzhou, at about 06:30.

Earlier, on August 28, Saudel had already touched the Zhejiang coastline twice. The first encounter occurred at roughly 08:05, delivering winds of 35 m/s, followed by a second landfall at 09:10 with wind speeds of 33 m/s.

Zhejiang had escalated its emergency response to Level 1 – the highest alert – on August 27, issuing orders to keep the seas clear of vessels and suspend all offshore activity. By 07:00 on August 28, the Fujian flood‑control and drought‑relief authority reported evacuating approximately 247,700 residents from danger zones to safe locations. More than 80,000 emergency personnel and an equal number of rescue assets were readied for any eventuality.

Preventive measures in Zhejiang included a massive risk‑assessment operation, with over 4,000 monitoring staff conducting patrols at more than 7,200 geologically sensitive points, totaling 19,000 inspections across 73 counties. A contingent of 564 geologists was also deployed to aid the assessment.

The national meteorological center issued an advisory on the morning of August 28, predicting that Saudel would travel southwest at 20‑25 km/h while gradually weakening.