China begins response to super typhoon Yagi

Trains and boats were suspended in China's Hainan on the morning of September 5, while many schools across the south of the country as well as in Hong Kong and Macau were closed in response to Typhoon Yagi.

Typhoon Yagi causes heavy rains and flooding in Pampanga, Philippines, September 5. Photo: Reuters

Yagi strengthened into a super typhoon on the night of September 4 and was about 500 km southeast of Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province on the afternoon of September 5. Authorities raised the typhoon warning to the highest level.

The typhoon is expected to move at a speed of 10-15 km/h, bringing heavy rain to coastal areas in southern Guangdong and Hainan Island. Typhoon Yagi is expected to strengthen and make landfall along the coast from Hainan's Qionghai County to Guangdong's Dianbai County from the afternoon to the night of September 6.

Guangdong province raised its emergency response level to the highest level due to strong winds, while the nearby gambling hub of Macau said it would raise its typhoon warning signal, like Hong Kong, from 8pm to 11pm on Thursday.

The main bridge linking Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai in Guangdong will close on the evening of September 5 as authorities close the world's longest sea crossing until further notice.

All flights to and from Hainan's Haikou Airport will be suspended from 8 p.m. on September 5 until midnight on September 6, local authorities said. Beaches and coastal tourist attractions will also be closed.

Hong Kong issued a level 3, level 8 storm warning at 6:40 p.m. on September 5. The warning will close many businesses and restrict traffic in the special administrative region.

The city's weather observatory said heavy rain bands would affect the area late on Thursday, with heavy rain continuing into the following day. Several flights scheduled to arrive and depart from Hong Kong International Airport on Friday were cancelled.

If the Category 8 storm warning remains in effect on the morning of September 6, the city's stock exchange will close.

Super Typhoon Yagi has more than doubled in strength since it devastated the northern Philippines earlier this week, killing at least 13 people.

With maximum sustained winds of 209 km/h near the eye, Yagi is considered the world's second strongest tropical cyclone so far in 2024, behind Category 5 Hurricane Beryl in the Atlantic.

From 1949 to 2023, 106 typhoons made landfall in Hainan, but only nine were classified as super typhoons.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/trung-quoc-bat-dau-ung-pho-voi-sieu-bao-yagi-post310768.html