China has evacuated around 400,000 people as one of the year’s most powerful storms, Super Typhoon Yagi, is set to make landfall on the popular tourist island of Hainan later today, according to state media reports.
Transport services including trains, boats, and flights have been suspended for a second consecutive day, and schools remain closed across much of the southern region as Yagi approaches.
After causing significant damage in the northern Philippines earlier this week, Yagi has intensified and is now packing winds up to 240 km/h (150 mph) near its center. Meteorologists warn that the storm may bring “catastrophic” damage to Hainan and neighboring Guangdong, China’s most populous province.
The Indo-Pacific Tropical Cyclone Warning Center has described Yagi as an “extremely dangerous and powerful” super typhoon, comparable to a Category 5 hurricane. Authorities in Hainan have shut all tourist attractions since Wednesday and are bracing for “massive and destructive winds.”
The world’s longest sea crossing, the bridge linking Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai in Guangdong, has also been closed. Heavy rainfall and strong gales have already begun affecting the region, with rainfall expected to reach up to 500 mm.
Although Hainan frequently experiences typhoons, only nine of the 106 typhoons that have hit the island from 1949 to 2023 were classified as super typhoons. Authorities believe Yagi could be the strongest typhoon to strike China’s southern coast in a decade.
Yagi is anticipated to make a second landfall in northern Vietnam late Saturday in a weakened state. Local authorities plan to evacuate tens of thousands from Hai Phong and Thai Binh provinces by the end of Friday. The Vietnamese military has mobilized approximately 460,000 officers to manage the storm’s impact.
Vietnam’s Deputy Agriculture Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep has cautioned that Yagi could affect regions crucial to the country’s socio-economic development, warning of potential catastrophic damage if precautions are not taken. Four airports in northern Vietnam, including Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, will be closed on Saturday.
Earlier this week, Yagi’s floods and landslides in the northern Philippines resulted in at least 13 fatalities and forced thousands to evacuate.
Scientists attribute the increasing strength and frequency of such storms to climate change, with warmer ocean waters fueling higher wind speeds and a warmer atmosphere leading to more intense rainfall. Yagi follows Typhoon Shanshan, which struck Japan last week, causing six deaths and injuring hundreds.
