According to Reuters on September 6, the strongest storm in Asia this year - super typhoon Yagi - made landfall on Hainan Island, China, bringing heavy rain and strong winds, causing widespread power outages, paralyzing the tourist island known as "China's Hawaii".
With peak winds of 234 km/h (145 mph) near the center, Yagi is the second-strongest tropical cyclone on record, behind only Category 5 Hurricane Beryl in the Atlantic, and the strongest storm in the Pacific basin in 2024.
After doubling in strength since making landfall in the northern Philippines and killing 16 people, Yagi swept through Wenchang City in Hainan (China) this afternoon, September 6.
According to the official Xinhua news agency, just over an hour after Typhoon Yagi made landfall, Hainan experienced a power outage, affecting 830,000 households in the province.
Xinhua added that the provincial power supply department has set up a 7,000-member emergency response team to begin repairs as soon as conditions allow. As of tonight, September 6, power has been restored to 260,000 households.
In response to Typhoon Yagi, the island known for its sandy beaches and luxury hotels has canceled all flights and ferries, closed businesses and ordered its more than 10 million residents to stay home.
Typhoon Yagi crossed the Qiongzhou Strait between Hainan Island and Leizhou Peninsula, making a second landfall in Guangdong with winds exceeding 200 km/h.
As of noon on September 6, more than 574,511 residents in Guangdong had been evacuated, including 407,064 in Zhanjiang, where the typhoon made its second landfall on the night of September 6. A total of 84,873 fishing vessels had sought shelter in the harbor.
Yagi is the most severe typhoon to hit Hainan since 2014, when Typhoon Rammasun hit the island province as a Category 5 tropical storm. 88 people died in Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan provinces as a result of Typhoon Rammasun. The storm caused more than $6.25 billion in economic losses.
Similar to Rammasun, Typhoon Yagi formed over warm waters east of the Philippines and followed a similar track.
Yagi made landfall in China as a Category 4 storm, bringing winds strong enough to overturn cars, uproot trees and cause severe damage to roads, bridges and buildings.
After sweeping across Hainan, Yagi is expected to make landfall in Vietnam, causing strong winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms in the North around noon on September 7.
