Shenzhen issued its first typhoon warning of the year at 11 a.m. Thursday, a low-level white alert, as a strengthening Typhoon Wutip was located 727 kilometers southwest of the city. According to the Shenzhen Meteorological Observatory, the storm is heading toward Hainan and Guangdong provinces.

Some train services from Shenzhen to Zhanjiang in southwestern Guangdong, Jingxi in southwestern Guangxi, and Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, for the upcoming weekend have been suspended, according to Shenzhen’s railway authority.

After receiving a text message about the suspension of a train service from the railway authority, passengers can apply for a full refund within 30 days (including the day of the journey) from the scheduled departure date of the train, either through the 12306 website or at the railway station ticket window. No fees will be charged for refunds due to train suspension.

According to the forecast, Wutip was expected to edge towards Hainan Province and strengthen gradually before making landfall along the coast between Lingshui and Ledong on Friday morning. It is likely to make a second landfall somewhere along the coast between western Guangdong and southern Guangxi on Saturday.

Outer rainbands associated with the typhoon, named after the Cantonese word for butterfly, have brought gloomy skies, wind, and rain to Shenzhen since Wednesday. Torrential rains are expected to hit the city between Friday and Sunday.

While temperatures have eased slightly from Tuesday’s scorching highs, the temperature in most districts in Shenzhen still reached around 31 to 32 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

Residents in coastal regions are urged to closely monitor weather updates and prepare for the typhoon in advance. When a typhoon strikes, residents should stay indoors, preferably in windowless or small-windowed rooms such as bathrooms.

Experts from the National Emergency Broadcast advise residents to check and reinforce doors, windows, outdoor air conditioners, solar water heaters, and other outdoor equipment. Additionally, residents are advised to apply X-shaped tape to windows to help prevent breakage.

During a typhoon, if people are caught outdoors, they should avoid taking shelter near billboards, towers, or large trees and steer clear of embankments and bridges near bodies of water to prevent being swept away.

Additionally, after a strong typhoon, people should remain in their shelters and not venture out immediately. Even if the eye of the storm passes overhead and brings a brief period of calm, the danger is not over. Typically, within an hour, winds will return with renewed intensity from the opposite direction, experts warn.