Heavy rain and powerful winds blew in from the south on Friday, the strongest storm to hit the region in a decade yet to make landfall.
Packing maximum sustained winds of 245 kilometers per hour (152 mph) near its eye, Yagi is the world’s second-most powerful tropical cyclone to date in 2024.
The most powerful was Category 5, which passed through eastern Canada.
Yagi gets strength
Heavy rains in the Philippines last week have doubled Yagi’s strength, causing landslides and flooding. At least 13 people have died.
The typhoon is now expected to make landfall on China’s southern coast from Wenchang on Hainan Island to Leizhou in Guangdong Province on Friday afternoon.
After China, the typhoon is likely to move towards Vietnam on Saturday.
Hurricanes and typhoons are phenomena where the storm gathers energy from warm water on the ocean surface to feed horizontal winds.
According to the US space agency NASA’s website, they are called hurricanes in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, typhoons in the western Pacific, and cyclones in the Indian Ocean and near Australia.
These storms are becoming stronger and less predictable around the world, fueled by warmer oceans due to climate change, scientists have warned.
Preparation for super typhoon
In preparation for the storm, authorities in southern Chinese provinces suspended flights, trains and boats and closed schools and offices.
Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Authority said four airports in the north of the country, including Hanoi’s Noi Ban International, would remain closed on Saturday.
The country on Thursday urged about 2,200 tourists on coastal islands to return to the mainland, and mobilized more than 2,700 military personnel to help prepare for the typhoon.
Many flights were canceled and other transport links were also closed in southern China’s Henan, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau regions. The Chinese government sent task forces to Guangdong and Hainan to provide guidance on flood prevention, official news agency Xinhua reported.
In Hong Kong, China’s financial hub, the stock exchange and bank services were closed on Friday.
The city’s weather authority issued a typhoon 8 signal for Yagi, the third-highest warning. It was expected to decrease on Friday afternoon as the storm moved away.
However, heavy rains will continue, authorities warned, asking residents to stay away from the coast.
mk/nm (AFP, Reuters)
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