IN response to many residents’ doubts regarding the fact that over 10,000 trees were felled by Typhoon Mangkhut over the weekend, the Shenzhen Municipal Urban Management Bureau replied Monday that most of the felled trees were top-heavy with loose roots.

Most of the felled trees were near the center of the strong winds when the typhoon struck the city. Surviving trees will be replanted in their original place after being trimmed and the broken trees will be cut and cleaned up, said the bureau.

Around 11,680 trees were felled and 4,241 damaged in Shenzhen by Super Typhoon Mangkhut, which wreaked havoc across a large area of Guangdong Province over the weekend.

A staffer from the bureau’s greening section explained that the felled trees were mainly mahogany, Albizia falcataria, Benjamin fig and Acacia mangium. These species of trees were planted as part of the landscaping when the city was first built because they grow fast.

However, these trees normally have loose roots making them easier to fell, especially when their leaves are thriving. The staffer said that they would consider planting trees that are more resistant to strong winds in the future.

Dealing with all the felled trees and their broken branches will take a long time, according to the head of a branch treatment plant surnamed Yang. The cut branches will be delivered to a power plant in Shaoguan, a northern city in Guangdong Province.

Since the typhoon made severe impacts on many cities in the province and felled numerous trees, it will take much longer for the power plant to treat all the branches.

“Almost all of the fallen branches are being delivered to Shaoguan and the trucks that arrived with the branches several days ago have been lined up for three whole days,” said Yang.

Yang also said that many residents are complaining about the bad smell caused by wet and broken trunks, but more time is needed to deal with the felled trees.

The trees felled by the super typhoon not only blocked many roads in the city, but also damaged electrical wires and water supplies in many regions.

(Zhang Qian)