Chapter 221 Emergency Evacuation
Following the direction the man was pointing, all the women present looked over.
Upon closer inspection, everyone was surprised to discover something.
The sky, which was just a clear blue, has changed without me even noticing.
Large swaths of dark clouds hung in the southeast direction.
The dark clouds were visibly pressing towards the residential compound.
The woman who had been complaining about the radar weather team just a moment ago suddenly turned deathly pale.
"Oh no! Oh no! The typhoon is really coming."
Granny Qian was so anxious that she kept slapping her thigh, "How could this typhoon come so suddenly!"
"I...I just took the wooden strips off the window this morning. Isn't this just making things difficult for people?"
"Old Lady Qian, stop pacing around in circles and hurry back to pack your things."
As soon as she finished speaking, Aunt Li quickly got up, her speed comparable to a 100-meter sprint.
The remaining sisters-in-law were also in a panic.
Before anyone could react...
A sudden gust of wind arose from the ground, followed by a torrential downpour of large raindrops.
The scene suddenly became chaotic.
On the other side, the radar weather team.
The atmosphere was extremely tense at that moment.
The radar team leader glanced at the radar screen and asked, "What's the current wind speed?"
"Reporting to the team leader, ten minutes ago it was 32.1 meters per second, now it is 32.3 meters per second."
32.8 meters per second, which translates to approximately level 11.
Typhoon warnings are not always accurate; fluctuations of a few levels are quite normal.
Upon hearing this result, Team Leader Liu, whose brow had been furrowed for days, finally relaxed slightly.
Level 11 is already much better than they expected.
But less than a second after he breathed a sigh of relief, Xiao Wang suddenly looked over with a panicked expression.
"It's bad, team leader! The echo intensity is showing obvious abnormalities, and the central wind speed is jumping around."
Team Leader Liu: "Report the specific figures!"
"Currently at 32.5 m/s... 33.4 m/s... 34.6 m/s!"
In less than a minute, the typhoon jumped from level 11 to level 12.
The scariest thing is that this number keeps fluctuating!
Upon hearing this, everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed intently on the dashboard.
Five minutes later, the data analyst's voice rang out again, "Team leader, the wind speed has now exceeded 52 meters per second, and the forecast level is over level 16!"
"How much did you say?" Team Leader Liu's eyes widened in disbelief.
The data clerk repeated, "Level 16!"
"Check it again, and while you're at it, confirm the error range once more."
Realizing what was happening, Team Leader Liu added, "Call the provincial meteorological observatory and ask about the weather balloon data."
"yes!"
Half an hour later, Team Leader Liu hurriedly knocked on the door of the operations command center office, holding the final radar data report.
"Reporting to the commander, it has been confirmed that this typhoon has exceeded the level of Category 16!"
"The wind speed at the time of landing is expected to be 55 meters per second, with an error margin of 2 meters per second."
"The center is located southeast of Qionghai, and the estimated landfall time is four hours later."
As he spoke, Team Leader Liu handed over the radar data report.
"What? Level 16?"
Commander Yao frowned and grabbed the report.
"Is this data reliable? Have you confirmed it with the provincial meteorological observatory?"
"It has been confirmed, and the weather station said that level 16 is already a... conservative estimate."
"They also said that this could be the strongest typhoon since the founding of the nation."
"In addition, the rainfall is expected to far exceed historical levels, and will be accompanied by extreme weather such as thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail."
The only good news is that this wasn't the typhoon's first landfall point.
Team Leader Liu said, "After the typhoon makes landfall, the wind force will continue to weaken. There is a buffer zone of two to three hundred kilometers between the landfall site and the residential compound."
"By the time the typhoon passes, the wind may not be as strong, and the typhoon may also change direction during this period."
Commander Yao paused for a moment, then said, "But we can't gamble on that possibility."
Everyone present knew just how destructive a category 16 typhoon could be.
"Old Yao, the apartment buildings in the family compound can't withstand a typhoon of this magnitude."
As he spoke, Political Commissar Li looked out the window with a worried expression.
"I know."
After a moment of contemplation, Commander Yao looked at his bodyguard.
"Pass the order: immediately activate the highest-level typhoon warning!"
"All non-combat personnel, including their families, must immediately evacuate to the auditorium. Speed is crucial!"
"Yes, sir!"
After a piercing air raid siren, an urgent broadcast began.
[Urgent Notice! Urgent Notice! Attention all families of revolutionaries!]
Typhoon 74316 has been confirmed as a Category 16 super typhoon and is expected to make landfall in four hours.
[All personnel who hear this announcement, immediately! Follow the designated evacuation route to the second floor of the regimental headquarters auditorium for refuge.]
...
At this moment, on the second floor of the division headquarters auditorium.
Jiang Si made ample preparations in advance, and her third uncle, who had lived by the sea since childhood, had some understanding of typhoons.
So long before the rain started, she had already brought her prepared things and slowly made her way over.
Accompanying her were Teacher Hu, Sister-in-law Xu, and some other women who lived by the sea year-round.
Of course, Jiang Si wasn't the type to only care about her own life and death and disregard others.
After all, so many lives were lost; she couldn't possibly ignore it.
So before coming to the auditorium, Jiang Si made a special trip to see Director Pan of the family compound.
When she arrived, several of her sisters-in-law had already gone there.
Everyone came to Director Pan to report the situation.
Some people say that seeing what looks like fiery clouds early in the morning is a sign that a typhoon is approaching.
Another woman said that there were many more feather-shaped cirrus clouds in the southeast direction today.
This is also called "horse tail cloud" in their hometown, and it is one of the most common clouds seen during typhoons.
Jiang Si's reaction was similar to that of the others, but she also emphasized a few points.
This morning, after Third Uncle and Uncle Zhong realized something was wrong, they made a special trip to the beach.
There, they discovered many surging waves.
Jiang Si also mentioned to Director Pan that the seawater had become murky.
After summarizing the situation, Director Pan immediately reported it to the military region.
Immediately afterwards, she went door to door to notify everyone again.
But as the saying goes, you can't reason with a damned devil!
Director Pan's mouth was almost dry from talking, but everyone seemed to have heard something funny and continued to sit calmly by the door chatting away.
The happier we were then, the more we regret it now.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier. In just one hour, the water in the residential compound had reached up to the calves.
"What's going on? It's been over an hour, and less than a third of the people have been evacuated," said Battalion Commander Sun, who was in charge of evacuating the family compound.
Director Pan looked troubled. "I've urged them several times already, but everyone's busy packing their things and won't listen..."
"This is utter nonsense! What time is it? Is something more important, or is your life more important?"
With little time remaining, Battalion Commander Sun had no choice but to send a small detachment over.
"Quickly, everyone, hurry up and get out of here!"
The young soldiers knocked on the door while urging everyone to hurry up.
"It'll be ready soon, almost done." The more they urged, the more anxious everyone became.
Just then, Old Lady Xiang poked half her body out from next door, "Young comrade!"
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