Getty ImagesChina has evacuated about 400,000 people as one of the strongest typhoons of the year is expected to hit the popular tourist island of Hainan late Friday, state media reported.
Trains, boats and flights in the region were delayed for a second day, while schools remained closed in large swathes of the south as Typhoon Yagi approached.
Yagi has doubled in strength since it devastated the northern Philippines earlier this week, now packing winds of up to 240km/h (150mph) near its eye.
Meteorologists said Yagi could cause “catastrophic” damage in Hainan and neighboring Guangdong province, which is also China’s most populous province.
The Indo-Pacific Tropical Cyclone Warning Center wrote in an advisory on Thursday that Yagi is an “extremely dangerous and powerful” super typhoon and will soon make landfall “with the potential to cause a disaster.”
Super typhoon equivalent to category 5 storm.
Hainan authorities have ordered all tourist attractions to close from Wednesday, warning of “strong and destructive winds”.
The world’s longest sea-crossing bridge, the main bridge connecting Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai in Guangdong, has also been closed.
Some areas in the region have seen heavy rain and strong winds since Thursday, with China’s weather agency predicting rainfall of up to 500mm.
Hainan, with its sandy beaches and clear waters, is no stranger to typhoons. But only nine of the 106 typhoons that have hit Hainan between 1949 and 2023 have been classified as super typhoons, Reuters reported.
Chinese authorities believe Yagi will be the strongest typhoon to hit the country’s southern coast in a decade.
Typhoon Yagi is expected to make landfall in northern Vietnam late Saturday as it has weakened.
Tens of thousands of people in Hai Phong and Thai Binh provinces will be evacuated to safer places by the end of Friday, local authorities said, AFP news agency reported.
The military has mobilized about 460,000 officers to help manage the impact of the storm, Vietnamese media reported.
Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture has warned that the storm could affect areas “important to the socio-economic development” of the region.
“Carelessness can cause catastrophic damage,” said Nguyen Hoang Hiep.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said four airports in the north, including Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, will be closed on Saturday as a precaution against the storm.
Earlier this week, floods and landslides caused by Typhoon Yagi killed at least 13 people in the northern Philippines, forcing thousands to evacuate to safer ground.
Scientists say that Hurricanes and tornadoes are getting stronger and more frequently as climate changes. Warmer ocean waters mean storms absorb more energy, leading to higher wind speeds.
Warmer air also holds more moisture, which can lead to heavier rainfall.
Yagi arrived a week later. Typhoon Shanshan hits Japankilled at least six people and injured hundreds.
