Emergency and medical crews have been working to improve sanitation conditions in south China's Hainan in the aftermath of the destructive Super Typhoon Yagi which ripped through the island province.
Yagi, the 11th typhoon of the year, made landfall twice on Friday, first striking Hainan Province and later the neighboring Guangdong Province.
Hainan faced the full force of the typhoon, with four people being killed and 95 injured.
After being pounded with heavy rain and gusty winds, Hainan is now suffering water shortages and the threat contamination in the aftermath of the deadly disaster. In response, the Danzhou Center of Disease Control and Prevention quickly launched a series of disinfection operations to ensure the safety of local residents.
"When we came here, we found that the well water in this village is surface water and is easily contaminated by poultry-like feces or leaves and grass on the ground. These things flowed into the wells with the rain. So, we need to disinfect water wells to ensure residents' water safety," said Lin Haixing, a staff member from the Danzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Authorities in Hainan's Wenchang City have also been carrying out strict disinfection work in key areas such in sewers, garbage collection points, and at resettlement sites and college campuses, as they look to prevent the spread of disease in the wake of the typhoon.
"The disease control and prevention department issues a reminder that special attention should be paid in regards to drinking water and the overall environmental sanitation after the typhoon. [Residents should] drink boiled water instead of untreated water. Utensils must be disinfected and cleaned before being filled with water. Do not dump domestic garbage and other waste around water sources," said Mei Zhenkun, a staff member from the Wenchang Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Follow-up work ongoing to address sanitation conditions in typhoon-hit Hainan
