According to the latest storm report from the National Meteorological Center (NMC), Super Typhoon Yagi - one of the world's strongest storms in 2024 - made landfall in Wenchang County, Hainan Island Province at 4:20 p.m. local time on September 6. When it made landfall, the maximum wind speed near the center of the storm was above level 17 (234 km/h). The lowest central air pressure was 915 hPa.
Super Typhoon Yagi is the strongest storm to hit Hainan in a decade, China's National Meteorological Center said. The storm is expected to pass north of the island before crossing the Gulf of Tonkin and making landfall again in northern Vietnam as a weaker storm on the afternoon of September 7.
Heavy rain in southern China began on September 5 and is expected to last until September 8. Some areas of Hainan and Guangdong provinces will receive more than 500 mm of rain in a day.
Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi provinces have raised their emergency response to the highest level, warning residents of the risk of landslides and floods. National task forces have been dispatched to Guangdong and Hainan to help prepare for severe weather.
More than 410,000 people in Hainan and 670,000 in Guangdong have been evacuated due to the storm, Chinese media reported.
Hainan authorities have asked people to stay at home and ordered the closure of all non-essential businesses, markets, public transport, schools and tourist attractions.
Guangdong’s Transport Department has closed six highways and a major bridge connecting Hong Kong (China), Macau (China) and Zhuhai. In Hainan, Haikou Meilan International Airport has canceled all flights scheduled for September 6.
Typhoon Yagi had earlier passed through Hong Kong, China, injuring nine people and forcing the stock market to close on September 6. The Hong Kong Observatory warned of the risk of strong winds and urged people to stay away from the coast.
In Vietnam, authorities have called on boats to return to shore and evacuated residents and tourists from the islands. To ensure safety from storm No. 3, many provinces in Vietnam have closed schools on September 6-7 and arranged make-up classes.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has temporarily closed four airports: Van Don (Quang Ninh), Cat Bi (Hai Phong), Noi Bai (Hanoi), and Tho Xuan (Thanh Hoa) to ensure operational safety.
Typhoon Yagi, which killed at least 16 people in the Philippines earlier this week, has become a super typhoon after "extremely rapid intensification" in the South China Sea , the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) said.
The JTWC defines a super typhoon as a tropical storm with winds of 241 km/h or more in the northwest Pacific Ocean.
