At 7:00 a.m. on June 12, the center of storm No. 1 Wutip was at about 17.0 degrees north latitude, 110.4 degrees east longitude, just west of the Hoang Sa archipelago of Vietnam.
According to the typhoon forecast of the China Meteorological Administration, Typhoon No. 1 Wutip is continuing to move towards Hainan Island in southern China and is expected to make landfall on June 13 with strong typhoon intensity.
Typhoon Wutip is expected to strengthen into a severe tropical storm in the early morning of June 13, driven by the very warm waters of the East Sea. The storm will approach the south of Hainan Island (China), strengthening to level 10, gusting to level 13.
After crossing the coast, Wutip is expected to weaken as it moves across Hainan Island, but will strengthen again as it moves into the Gulf of Tonkin due to warm waters, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).
Wutip is then expected to make a second landfall as a severe tropical storm along the coast of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces (China) on June 14.
By the morning of June 15, the storm moved northeast, gradually weakening into a low pressure area over the southern mainland of China.
According to the Hai Khau Maritime Safety Management Agency (Hai Nam), all ferry services through the Qiongzhou Strait have been suspended starting at 11:00 on June 12. Currently, in Tam A (Hai Nam), all cargo ports have stopped operating and all technical projects on the water surface have been stopped.
According to the Tam A Maritime Safety Management Agency, a total of 1,205 personnel from 11 offshore drilling rigs have been evacuated to safe areas.
To prepare, the provincial Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, mitigation and Relief has activated emergency response, recommending that competent authorities strengthen inspections of reservoirs, urban drainage systems, tourist facilities and locations with potential geological risks. The Committee also calls on ships and drilling rigs operating at sea to take preventive measures against strong winds.
China has a four-level flood control emergency response system, with level 1 being the highest.
Due to the impact of the storm, southern regions of the country, including Hainan, Guangdong provinces and southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, are expected to see heavy rain until June 14. In particular, some areas in the central and eastern part of Hainan will have heavy rain with rainfall from 100-150 mm.
According to statistics from the National Meteorological Center (NMC), the date of formation of storm No. 1 this year is 2 months later than the average date of formation on March 25.
However, the average date for the first typhoon to hit China, based on statistics from the NMC from 1991-2020, was June 27. If Wutip makes landfall as currently forecast on June 13, it will be earlier than the long-term average.
