TWENTY-SEVEN people were missing after a floating crane sank in waters off the coast of Guangdong on Saturday morning, according to the provincial maritime search and rescue center yesterday.

At 3:50 a.m. Saturday, the floating crane was found via monitoring system to have had dragged anchor and was in danger after its mooring chain broke while it was avoiding typhoon Chaba in waters near the city of Yangjiang.

The floating crane had sunk, the center said. Rescue helicopters, rescue vessels and merchant vessels nearby have been mobilized to search for the missing people.

Three people were rescued at about 12 p.m. Saturday and 27 others fell into water and were missing, the center said.

Meanwhile, the National Meteorological Center yesterday renewed a yellow alert for rainstorms in some parts of the country.

Rainstorms are expected in parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and Hubei today, and heavy downpours up to 140 mm may lash parts of these regions, said the center.

Some of these regions will also experience short-term heavy rainfall with up to over 70 mm of hourly precipitation, accompanied by thunderstorms and gales.

Parts of Henan, Anhui, Shandong and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region are also likely to see heavy rains, according to the center.

The meteorological center has advised local governments to make appropriate preparations and check the drainage systems in cities, farmland, and fishponds.

It has also suggested taking traffic control measures in road sections hit by heavy downpours, guiding traffic in water-logged streets, and halting outdoor operations in hazardous areas.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Saturday upgraded its emergency response for flood and typhoon control to Level III, in light of possible floods triggered by the third and fourth typhoons of the year.

Chaba, the third typhoon of the year, made landfall in the coastal area of Maoming City in Guangdong Province at around 3 p.m. Saturday, which was expected to bring intense downpours and strong winds to the southern part of the country and the South China Sea.

Typhoon Aere, the fourth typhoon of the year, is forecast to approach the East China Sea on Saturday night. Affected by Aere, there are still uncertainties about Chaba’s route and the intensity of rainfalls it will cause, said the ministry, alerting severe flood control situations.

The Guangdong Provincial Government has upgraded its emergency response level for typhoons to Level II, the second-highest, effective 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

The regional government of Guangxi has also upgraded the emergency response level to Level II from Saturday noon and sent working groups to disaster-prone areas.

Rainstorms, with maximum precipitation expected to reach 600 mm, have been forecast to hit most parts of Guangxi from Saturday to Thursday.

South China’s island province of Hainan earlier upgraded its emergency response level for Typhoon Chaba to Level II and halted railway and flight services. All scenic spot activities, maritime entertainment, and aerial sightseeing activities have also been suspended.

(Xinhua)