Storm Yagi, one of the world’s strongest storms this year, made landfall in China’s Hainan island on Friday, drenching its southern coast.
Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated in Hainan, schools were shut, trading was halted and flights cancelled in Hong Kong and Macau with the super typhoon bringing high winds and rain to the region, having already left a trail of devastation in the Philippines.
The storm’s windspeeds reached 245kmph, making Yagi the second-most powerful tropical cyclone anywhere in the world for 2024.
Follow the latest updates on Super Typhoon Yagi
The eye of storm reached the northern tip of Hainan island on Friday, weather maps showed.
It is expected to impact a large swathe of China before moving off towards Vietnam and Laos over the weekend.
Hainan had relocated 419,367 residents, transport links and businesses have been shut across the region, including the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge, the world’s longest sea crossing.
The storm also closed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The typhoon’s path, as charted by the Japanese Meteorological Agency, shows the storm crossing Hainan and then moving towards northern Vietnam for another landfall.
Four airports in northern Vietnam, including Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, have been shut. Along with Vietnam, Laos and Thailand are also bracing for its impact over the weekend as the outer bands of the typhoon bring rainfall and wind gusts.
The severe tropical storm intensified into a super typhoon on Thursday morning with wind gusts exceeding 160mph, making it a Category 5 equivalent typhoon by various classifications, and a “violent typhoon” according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) – its highest storm classification.
The storm has already claimed at least 16 lives in the Philippines, causing heavy rainfall and landslides before moving towards the west.
In the Philippines, where the storm is locally known as Enteng, the damage has been severe. Landslides, floods, and strong winds have caused widespread destruction, particularly in the northern regions.
In the tourist city of Antipolo a landslide killed three people, including a pregnant woman, while floodwaters claimed the lives of four others. The storm also caused extensive disruption to transportation, with flights cancelled and sea travel suspended, leaving thousands stranded.
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