According to the latest storm report from Reuters, Super Typhoon Yagi is one of the strongest storms to hit China in years. A tropical storm with a speed of 240 km/h or more in the northwest Pacific Ocean is called a super typhoon.
Yagi is the Japanese word for goat and the constellation Capricorn. The storm has doubled in strength since ravaging the northern Philippines earlier this week.
Typhoon Yagi , which is currently in the East Sea , is the second-strongest tropical cyclone on record for 2024, after Category 5 Hurricane Beryl in the Atlantic. Scientists say storms are becoming stronger, fueled by warmer oceans as a result of climate change, according to Reuters. Last week, Typhoon Shanshan, which hit southwestern Japan, was the strongest storm to hit the country in decades.
In CNN's latest hurricane bulletin on Yagi on September 5, experts also pointed out that Typhoon Yagi has winds of up to 240 km/h, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean and is only 11 km/h away from reaching the level of a Category 5 hurricane. Just one day before, on September 4, Yagi was a tropical storm with maximum winds of 90 km/h. Scientists have found that warmer oceans due to the climate crisis are causing storms to intensify faster.
In its storm forecast , the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) noted: "The storm will continue to intensify over the warm waters of the South China Sea."
Yagi strengthened into a super typhoon on September 4 and was about 500 km southeast of Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, China on the afternoon of September 5.
Reuters' latest storm forecast said Typhoon Yagi would strengthen and make landfall along the coast from Qionghai in Hainan to Dianbai in Guangdong from the afternoon to the night of September 6.
Reuters notes that Super Typhoon Yagi's expected landfall on Hainan is rare, as most typhoons that hit the island are classified as weak. Between 1949 and 2023, 106 typhoons hit Hainan, but only nine were classified as super typhoons.
The New York Times' latest storm news said that super typhoon Yagi was moving towards southern China on September 6. Yagi has upgraded to a super typhoon with maximum sustained winds of about 240km/h, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic.
The JTWC forecast notes that Yagi is expected to become the strongest typhoon to affect Hainan since 2014.
The China Meteorological Administration has warned residents of the risk of flooding and rising water and raised the emergency response level to the second-highest level for Typhoon Yagi. Guangdong province alone has issued its highest-level emergency warning.
Some towns in Hainan are expected to see more than 600mm of rain in the next 24 hours, Hainan's weather forecast on September 5 said. Hainan has suspended all train and boat trips on September 5, and canceled all flights scheduled at Haikou Meilan International Airport from the evening of September 5 to the night of September 6.
Yagi formed on September 1 in the Philippine Sea. In the Philippines, Typhoon Yagi dropped up to 250 mm of rain this week, killing at least 14 people. After passing through southern China, Typhoon Yagi is forecast to weaken as it moves north towards Vietnam.
