HONG KONG: Cities in southern China suspended schools and cancelled some flights on Thursday (Sep 4), as tropical storm Yagi strengthened into a super typhoon and barreled straight for the holiday island province of Hainan.
The typhoon tracked west across the South China sea and moved towards Hainan with winds of up to 209km, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
“Hainan upgraded its emergency response to Yagi to the highest level at 11.30am on Thursday, according to the provincial disaster management authority,” Xinhua said.
The typhoon is expected to make landfall on Friday afternoon in either Hainan or neighbouring Guangdong.
Work, school and local transport services were suspended from Thursday noon in Haikou, Hainan’s capital.
In Hong Kong, which Yagi is expected to bypass, the weather observatory said it will issue the city’s third-highest typhoon warning at 6.20pm, limiting public transport across the finance hub.
Classes at kindergarten and special schools in Hong Kong were suspended on Thursday, while budget airline Hong Kong Express said six flights have been rescheduled.
Greater Bay Airlines said they would cancel four flights and reschedule two more due to the weather.
“Yagi will remain at super typhoon intensity and skirt around 300km to the southwest of Hong Kong tomorrow morning,” the observatory said.
“Gale winds associated with Yagi are expected to affect the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary tonight and tomorrow morning.
All inbound and outbound flights from Hainan’s Haikou airport would be suspended from Thursday at 8pm until Friday midnight, local authorities said, as they closed beaches and coastal tourist attractions.
Super typhoon Yagi’s projected landfall in Hainan is rare with most typhoons landing on the duty-free island classified as weak. From 1949 to 2023, 106 typhoons landed in Hainan but only 9 were classified as super typhoons.
After southern China, Yagi will move towards Vietnam, on course to hit the northern and north-central regions around the famed UNESCO heritage site Halong Bay.
Vietnam’s meteorological agency issued a storm warning on Thursday, and the government mobilised more than 2,700 military personnel for storm response.
Coastal provinces are planning a sailing ban on Friday, while Vietnam’s mountainous provinces were ordered to prepare rescue vehicles
At least 13 people were killed in the Philippines earlier this week due to Yagi.
