TAIPEI, Taiwan — China is experiencing one of its strongest storms in a decade after Super Typhoon Yagi, equivalent to a strong Category 4 hurricane, made landfall in the southern island province of Hainan on Friday afternoon local time.
By Vic Chiang
and Yagi made landfall in Wenchang, at the northeastern tip of Hainan, at 4:20 p.m. local time and is pushing northwest toward the Qiongzhou Strait, the body of water between Hainan and the Leizhou Peninsula, part of Guangdong province to the north.
The worst of the storm passed south of Hong Kong on Friday morning. The Hong Kong Observatory, which provides forecasts and warnings for the city, lowered its alert level from its third-highest typhoon signal, 8, to 3 at 12:40 p.m. local time.
Typhoon #Yagi charges toward Hainan Island, China.
— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) September 5, 2024
Winds will likely exceed 200 km/h at landfall. Dangerous storm surge could inundate many coastal areas around the Leizhou Peninsula and eastern Hainan. #台风 #颱風 pic.twitter.com/E5U36EkWQn
The storm underwent what the Joint Typhoon Warning Center at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, called “an impressive period of extreme rapid intensification” late Wednesday into Thursday local time. Its maximum sustained winds jumped 70 mph in just 24 hours. After briefly weakening thereafter, it regained some strength early Friday.
The storm peaked in strength on Thursday morning with winds of 155 mph — just 2 mph shy of Category 5-equivalent status but qualifying as a super typhoon; a storm is considered a super typhoon when its peak winds reach 150 mph. Yagi’s air pressure briefly dropped to 915 millibars, making it the most intense storm in the South China Sea in 55 years.
Yagi became the second-strongest storm of 2024 globally, behind only Hurricane Beryl, which peaked as a Category 5 with 165 mph winds in the eastern Caribbean on July 2.
In Guangdong and Hainan, local officials said Yagi could be the strongest typhoon to hit the region in a decade. The two provinces upgraded their emergency response to the highest level, closing schools and offices in several cities for a second day on Friday.
In preparation for landfall, authorities in Hainan had evacuated more than 410,000 residents living in low-lying and dangerous areas by Friday morning as a precaution. Three major airports in the island province canceled all flights from Thursday evening through Friday, while Hainan’s high-speed rail and some parts of the Guangdong railways suspended operations through Saturday.
Boats have been secured around Hainan, and flights, ferries and trains across the region have been canceled as heavy rains began to lash the area.
The meteorological bureau of Shenzhen municipality has hoisted typhoon warnings, writing that “the state of typhoon defense is triggered.”
“Emergency shelters shall be open. Residents shall stay in safe places for temporary shelter,” the agency advised Thursday. “Employers shall adopt a flexible arrangement such as postponing, leaving earlier or suspending operation. … Relevant emergency response departments and rescue units shall be well prepared.”
The region is no stranger to strong typhoons. On July 18, 2014, Rammasun, a high-end Category 4-equivalent typhoon with 145 mph winds, made landfall near Xuwen, China.
There’s an increasing chance that Yagi’s more westerly movement, which has caused it to track a bit south of forecasts, could bring more direct impacts to Hainan’s provincial capital, Haikou, home to 3 million residents. Haikou might end up in the western eyewall of Yagi — or the innermost ring of destructive winds and heavy rain encircling the typhoon’s eye.
According to the China Meteorological Center, as of Thursday afternoon, Yagi’s maximum winds surpassed those of Typhoon Gaemi, which in July caused severe floods and landslides in China, Taiwan and the Philippines, killing dozens in the region. In the most-affected areas, rainfall is expected to hit 2 feet, while waves could reach as high as 32 feet.
North of Yagi’s center, onshore flow may bring a storm surge — or rise in ocean water above normally dry land — of two meters, or more than six feet, to southern Xuwen County. Depending on the exact track Yagi takes, seawater could be funneled into the Qiongzhou Strait, leading to surge impacts in Haikou.
In Guangdong, more than 80,000 fishing boats have taken shelter at the ports as authorities ordered all vessels to return to the shore ahead of the typhoon’s landfall. Public events and gatherings have been canceled, and authorities have advised residents to stay indoors unless necessary.
“Yagi could cause catastrophic damage to the northeastern coastal areas of Hainan upon landfall, and preparations for large-scale evacuation of people near the landfall point must be made,” Li Xun, the director of the Hainan Meteorological Observatory, said at a news conference Wednesday. He warned that Yagi’s impact could surpass Rammasun, which killed 19 people and affected 3.6 million in the province.
China has been experiencing an increased frequency of extreme weather events in recent years as heat waves and summer storms have raised concerns among Chinese officials about the country’s vulnerability to worsening weather related to climate change.
The country has already been battling severe and deadly floods in several provinces in recent months. In northwestern Qinghai province, weather stations recorded the heaviest rainfall on Wednesday since data collection began in 1954. Meanwhile, a heat wave along the Yangtze River has led to record-breaking high temperatures in cities such as Nanchang, forcing local governments to postpone the start of the school year this week.
Yagi passed through the Philippines earlier this week as a tropical storm, known locally as Enteng, and killed at least 13 people, according to Reuters. After sweeping past Guangdong and Hainan, Yagi is forecast to reach Vietnam as a low-end typhoon or tropical storm this weekend.
Matthew Cappucci reported from Washington. Jason Samenow in Washington contributed to this report.
