One of this year’s most powerful storms is set to slam into the Chinese holiday island of Hainan today, after its outer bands lashed Hong Kong and parts of southern China.
Packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 240km/h, Super Typhoon Yagi is currently the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane – the world’s second-most powerful tropical cyclone of 2024 so far, only eclipsed by the Atlantic hurricane Beryl which was a Category 5.
Scientists have found that hotter oceans caused by the human-caused climate crisis are leading storms to intensify more rapidly.
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Just two days ago Yagi was a tropical storm with top winds of 90km/h, but it rapidly gathered strength over the warm waters of the South China Sea.
It is expected to make landfall Friday afternoon local time in southwestern China, near the northern tip of Hainan, before driving inland through western Guangdong province.
Hainan is often dubbed “China’s Hawaii,” boasting sandy beaches, good surf, five-star resorts and duty-free luxury shopping.
It is not currently peak travel season, however, and the island generally has a good track record of weathering powerful storms.
But Yagi is a particularly strong system and its impact on less developed parts of the island as well as other parts of southern China could be significant.
A storm of Yagi’s strength brings winds strong enough to fell trees and power lines and can produce extremely large waves and storm surges along the coast.
Yagi has already sparked some travel disruption across parts of southern China as authorities enact storm warning systems to mitigate its impact ahead of arrival.
Intercity bus services have been suspended on Hainan since midnight, according to the provincial government.
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Train and high-speed rail services have been suspended yesterday while all flights departing will also be cancelled until midnight tonight, it added.
Authorities in Hainan have ordered all tourist attractions to be shut down as they warned of “massive and destructive” winds.
Bracing for impact, people were seen taping windows and glass doors for additional reinforcement against the gusts. Some placed sandbags around door gaps to prevent flooding.
China’s Central Meteorological Agency issued a red typhoon warning, the most severe alert, on Wednesday night for Hainan and the southern province of Guangdong.
The outer bands of Yagi brought heavy rain and high winds to the southern Chinese city of Hong Kong overnight.
Authorities raised the third-highest storm warning, a move that restricts some travel services and sparks school closures.
Multiple flights from Hong Kong have been cancelled and the city’s stock market – one of Asia’s largest – is currently suspended.
Known as Enteng in the Philippines, Yagi brought heavy rainfall across the country earlier in the week.
At least 13 people were killed, Reuters reported. In some parts of Luzon, rainfall totalling 400mm was reported.
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