Many places are straining against the storm.

Thousands evacuated

Typhoon Haikui made landfall in the mountainous and sparsely populated southeast of Taiwan on Tuesday afternoon, becoming the first major typhoon to directly hit the island in four years, according to Reuters. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has urged people to stay indoors and not go to the mountains, beaches, fishing or water sports.

Taiwanese officials said more than 3,700 people had been evacuated, mostly in the south and east. Counties and cities in eastern and southern Taiwan canceled classes and declared a day off for workers.

Nhiều nơi căng mình chống bão - Ảnh 1. — Huge waves in Yilan County as Typhoon Haikui makes landfall in eastern Taiwan on September 3.

In addition, two Taiwanese airlines, UNI Air and Mandarin Airlines, have canceled all flights. Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration said international flights were less disrupted, with only 41 canceled on September 3.

After sweeping across southeastern Taiwan, Typhoon Haikui is forecast to cross the Taiwan Strait into mainland China. The Guangdong Meteorological Observatory warned that Typhoon Haikui is approaching and is likely to make landfall or severely impact the Chinese province between September 5 and 6, according to Xinhua.

Earlier, Typhoon Saola made landfall in Guangdong Province early on September 2, forcing 925,000 people to evacuate and affecting more than 570 hectares of crops, according to Xinhua. Typhoon Saola hit Hong Kong on the evening of September 1, causing hundreds of flights to be canceled in the special administrative region and causing trees to fall in Shenzhen, killing one person. In addition, Philippine officials said on September 1 that Typhoon Saola caused floods and landslides in the country, killing at least one person and evacuating more than 387,000 people, according to Xinhua.

The US predicts 21 storms.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported yesterday that Tropical Storm Katia formed in the eastern Atlantic early on September 2 (US time), after several storms had formed and weakened or joined other storms in the ocean. US weather officials said that although the path of Hurricane Katia is difficult to determine, it is expected to weaken by September 3.

The news of the formation of Hurricane Katia came after Hurricane Idalia made landfall along the Big Bend region of Florida, causing widespread flooding and damage before moving north to Georgia and North and South Carolina. US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrived in Florida on September 2 to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Idalia as well as the response of state, local and federal officials to the storm, according to AP.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on August 10 predicted that there will be 14 to 21 named storms this year, up from 14 named storms last year. While there may not be more named storms overall, the likelihood of strong storms is increasing. There is a consensus among scientists that hurricanes are becoming more powerful due to climate change, according to The New York Times.

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