Typhoon Yagi made landfall on Friday, September 6, on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, where nearly 420,000 people were evacuated as a precaution, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Authorities expect Yagi to be the strongest storm to hit the country’s southern coast in a decade. Accompanied by heavy rain and winds of up to 234 km/h, the typhoon could cause devastating damage.
Hainan Island is a popular tourist destination, known for its sandy beaches and luxury hotels. Several tourist sites have been temporarily closed and restrictions on motorists have been put in place.
The Chinese Ministry of Water Resources on Thursday raised emergency measures to level three to deal with flooding in Hainan and neighbouring Guangdong province.
Vietnam on alert
Yagi passed within 400 kilometers of Hong Kong overnight Thursday into Friday, bringing heavy rain. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange was suspended Friday, schools are closed and public transportation is restricted. Authorities said three people were injured, but damage was limited. Heavy rain continued to fall on the city on Friday.
After passing through southern China, Yagi is due to continue its route to Vietnam, where it will reach the northern and central-northern regions on Saturday, around the famous Along Bay, a UNESCO heritage site. Tens of thousands of people will be evacuated on Friday to safer areas in the provinces of Hai Phong and Thai Binh, local authorities announced.
“It will be the most powerful typhoon [à toucher le nord du Vietnam] for twenty years »said Pham Duc Luan, head of the dam management authority, on Thursday. The Defense Ministry’s relief and rescue department mobilized more than 457,000 troops. Authorities also asked about 50,000 fishing boats to take shelter.
Southern China is frequently battered in summer and autumn by typhoons that form in the warm oceans east of the Philippines and Thailand. Typhoons in the region are forming closer to shore than before, intensifying more quickly and staying on land longer due to climate change, according to a study published in July.
