HANGZHOU, China – Huang Zhen, 34, shut his cafe for a day last week to be buffeted by surging waters and powerful winds that knocked him off his feet – training for extreme weather events that are increasingly afflicting China.

Huang was one of a dozen people attending a session at the Lvxing Disaster Simulation Training Centre in Hangzhou, eastern China. For 1,599 yuan (S$304) per day, it offers a realistic experience of what it is like to be caught up in a typhoon or a flash flood, albeit with the advantage of wearing a wetsuit, a helmet and having a safety instructor to guide you.

The centre says it is the first of its kind in the world to provide typhoon training, with its simulated experience generating wind speeds of up to 165kmh alongside torrential rain.

In a separate section, 900,000kg of surging water are unleashed to mimic mountain flooding, while in another, participants must wade – sometimes thigh-deep, sometimes shoulder-deep – through 400,000kg of water in a mock urban environment.

“Over the last two years, the weather has become increasingly unpredictable,” Huang said. “An opportunity like this... gives us a better idea of what different levels of disasters might actually be like, and helps raise our awareness of disaster preparedness.”