Super Typhoon Yagithe strongest of the year in China, left two dead and 92 injured as it passed through the island province of Hainan, where it made landfall on Friday afternoon, local authorities reported on Saturday. The storm, which the day before had left more than 1.5 million homes without power in the aforementioned province, located in the South China Sea, then made landfall again in the province of Guangzhou, already in mainland China.
The victims were residents of Ding’an County, while the injured were reported mostly in Haikou City and a dozen in Wenchang. Yagi affected Hainan and Guangzhou with strong wind and rain which, according to the National Meteorological Center of China, could reach level 12 and carry a high risk of disasters, including the formation of tornadoes on the coast.
In addition, Hundreds of thousands of users affected by power outageswith 134 power lines and more than 11,300 distribution substations damaged across the island, according to local media. As the storm moves away, authorities have begun reconstruction work in the province, where more than 2,000 workers are working to restore power supplies and unblock major roads.
High-speed trains will resume service throughout the afternoon on Saturday, while Meilan International Airport will remain closed until Sunday noon for cleaning work. In contrast, Phoenix International Airport, which serves the busy tourist resort of Sanya, gradually began operating on the day, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
This typhoon, the eleventh of the year and the first of the autumn season, caused the evacuation of more than 400,000 people in the island province, in addition to water and electricity cuts in several districts of Haikou, as well as damage to external infrastructure. With winds close to 62 meters per second and a minimum pressure of 915 hectopascals, Yagi has been compared in intensity to Typhoon Rammasun, which struck China in 2014.
Typhoon Yagi formed quickly after entering the South China Sea, aided by high ocean temperatures and low wind shear, allowing for rapid intensification. Experts cited by local newspaper The Paper pointed out that this year, typhoon activity has been lower than usual, with 11 of them forming in the northwest Pacific and the South China Sea, below the annual average of 13.87.
