Super Typhoon Yagi brought powerful winds and torrential rain to southern China on Friday, forcing schools to remain closed for a second day and leading to the cancellation of numerous flights, as the storm, one of Asia’s most intense this year, approached landfall on Hainan’s tropical coastline.
On Thursday, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters held a meeting with seven departments, including the Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration, to discuss the typhoon’s progression and evaluate potential disasters such as flooding.
The meeting highlighted that Typhoon Yagi is likely to be the strongest storm to hit China’s southern coast since 2014, making flood control and typhoon prevention particularly difficult.
According to the Ministry of Water Resources, the typhoon is expected to make landfall between Qionghai in Hainan and Dianbai in Guangdong on Friday afternoon or evening. Heavy rain is predicted to drench parts of Hainan and Guangdong from Friday through Sunday, potentially causing some rivers in these areas to surpass warning levels or experience significant flooding.
Transport services in southern China were mostly suspended on Friday, with many flights grounded in Hainan, Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the world’s longest sea crossing, was also closed due to the storm.
