Super Typhoon Yagi Approaches Southern China, Causing Widespread Disruptions

Super Typhoon Yagi Approaches Southern China

Super Typhoon Yagi, one of the most formidable storms of 2024, is making its way toward southern China, prompting widespread school and business closures, significant travel disruptions, and heightened concerns about potential landslides and flooding. The typhoon is expected to make landfall in the evening on Friday.

As reported by the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Yagi boasted maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour on Friday afternoon, categorizing it as a Category 4 hurricane. At that time, it was located approximately 65 miles east of Wenchang, a coastal city in Hainan Province, according to the National Meteorological Center of China.

Forecasts indicate that Yagi will strike Hainan on Friday evening, with predictions that it will be the strongest typhoon to impact the region in a decade. Following its initial landfall, it is expected to traverse the Gulf of Tonkin and weaken before making a second landfall in northern Vietnam on Saturday afternoon.

Heavy rainfall began impacting southern China on Thursday and is anticipated to continue through Sunday. The National Meteorological Center has warned that certain areas in Hainan and Guangdong provinces could experience over 20 inches of rain within a single day.

In response to the impending storm, Guangdong, Hainan, and Guangxi provinces have elevated their emergency preparedness to the highest level, advising residents of the increased risks associated with landslides and flooding. Additionally, national task forces have been deployed to assist in preparation efforts in both Guangdong and Hainan.

Authorities in Hainan have urged residents to remain indoors and have mandated the closure of all nonessential businesses, markets, public transportation, schools, and tourist sites. More than 20,000 residents have been evacuated, along with 76,000 shipment workers, in a bid to ensure safety.

• Guangdong’s transport department has closed six major highways and a critical bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai.
• In Hainan, Haikou Meilan International Airport has canceled all scheduled flights for Friday.

The storm has skirted around Hong Kong, where the stock market remained closed on Friday. The Hong Kong Observatory has issued warnings regarding the potential for powerful winds, advising residents to stay clear of coastal areas.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese government is also preparing for Yagi’s impact, urging fishing vessels to return to shore, evacuating residents and tourists from islands, and suspending operations at at least four airports on Friday, as reported by state media.

Yagi has already had a devastating impact, claiming at least 16 lives in the Philippines earlier this week. It intensified rapidly in the South China Sea, with the Joint Typhoon Warning Center defining a super typhoon as a tropical cyclone with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour or greater in the western North Pacific.