Shanghai’s coastal areas weather the storm
Print Edition
SHANGHAI’S Lingang New Town in the Pudong New Area was battered by violent winds and downpours from Typhoon Ampil yesterday morning, when Shanghai Daily arrived at the coastal area around 8am.
Police and guards last night blocked the road leading to the area’s seawalls, while curious residents hoping to see the shore were turned back.
“We placed road blocks last night at five junctions to the seawall,” said officer Shen Jun, with the Lingang police station. “All tourists were evacuated from the scene.”
The Shanghai Flood Control Headquarters said it had relocated a total of 192,727 people from coastal areas by early yesterday morning.
Among the evacuees were 6,600 people from construction sites in Lingang. They were put into five temporary shelters at area schools. The gym at Lingang No. 1 Middle School took in 465 construction workers, many of whom rode out the storm by watching movies, playing card games and relaxing.
Zhao Shufu, a worker from a nearby construction site said Ampil gave him some time to rest. “I slept the whole time since 7pm yesterday,” said Zhao. “The school has provided us with hot meals and water.”
But workers weren’t the only ones to displaced by the storm.
At the East Shanghai High School, 7-year-old Hu Qihao waited anxiously in line to recharge his smartphone. He was in the middle of a game when his battery died.
“I came to Yangshan Port two weeks ago from Chongqing to spend summer vacation with my dad,” said Hu. “But now I just want to go home.”
His father, Hu Zhongmin, told Shanghai Daily that his son was among the last to leave Yangshan on Saturday night.
“It will be an unforgettable memory for my kid,” Hu laughed. “Though I’m not sure if he liked it or not.”
Many others though were compelled by duty to face the typhoon and its destructive consequences.
On Huanhu Road W2 near Dishui Lake in Lingang, sanitation worker Chen Linjuan started work at 7am to pull leaves and branches out of storm drains.
“The street will flood with such downpours if I don’t remove them,” said Chen who used her bare hands to remove the leaves. Her fingers were cut in the process but she shrugged off the injury as she walked to another drain.
Many trees on Xiatang Highway in Lingang were uprooted by the wind, bringing local traffic police to the scene in full force.
“The trunks laying across the road were so thick that we had to use electronic cutters to break them apart before we could remove them,” said officer Li Jun with the traffic police.
Shanghai flood control officials said Typhoon Ampil has uprooted 576 trees and authorities have reinforced 46,000 trees citywide.
Meanwhile, in suburban Jinshan District, another coastal area of Shanghai, 15,000 people were evacuated.
Jinshanwei Third Community put up all of its 850 residents in temporary shelters at local schools.
According to Jinshan officials, the century-old community is prone to being inundated.
“Most people living in the community are workers from inland provinces like Sichuan and Henan who have little experience of typhoons back in their hometowns,” said Xu Qing from the district government.
Jinshan prepared 30 places to shelter the evacuees.
“I left all my personal belongings at home,” said a worker. “But I feel safe under the guard of the district officials.”
By yesterday afternoon, the worst of the storm had abated after making landfall on Chongming Island.
The flood control headquarters ended its emergency response to the storm last night, which means district authorities can start moving evacuated people back home as safety considerations permit.
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