Super Typhoon Yagi live: 400,000 evacuated as deadly storm makes landfall in China
Transport links, schools and businesses have been shut across Hong Kong, Southern China and Macau
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Super Typhoon Yagi is making landfall on China’s Hainan island, bringing heavy rain and powerful winds to much of the southern Chinese coastline as well as Hong Kong and Macau.
Chinese state media said 400,000 had been evacuated in Hainan as schools were closed for a second day and flights were cancelled across the region.
The storm’s windspeeds reached 245kmph this morning, making Yagi the second-most powerful tropical cyclone anywhere in the world for 2024.
The eye of storm reached the northern tip of Hainan island on Friday afternoon, weather maps showed. It is expected to impact a large swathe of China before moving off towards Vietnam and Laos over the weekend.
Hainan had relocated 419,367 residents, transport links and businesses have been shut across the region, including the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge, the world’s longest sea crossing. The storm also closed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Four airports in northern Vietnam, including Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, have been shut.
Yagi doubled in strength after striking northern Philippines where it killed 16 people.
Scientists warn that typhoons are becoming stronger due to warmer oceans, fueled by climate crisis.
Satellite image shows Typhoon Yagi’s eye at the tip of Hainan island
Photo: Businesses tape glass windows as Typhoon Yagi brings strong winds to Hainan
China evacuates over 400,000 people ahead of Typhoon Yagi landfall
China's southern island of Hainan has evacuated more than 400,000 people ahead of Yagi's arrival, state media said.
"The southern Chinese province of Hainan had relocated 419,367 residents as of 11.30am on Friday with super typhoon Yagi approaching," state news agency Xinhua said, citing local authorities.
Super Typhoon Yagi making landfall in Hainan
The eye of Super Typhoon Yagi has reached the northeastern tip of Hainan Island in southern China.
The typhoon's bands have been lashing the island province since yesterday with the wider region, especially the Guangdong province, also feeling the impact.
Over the next few hours, the storm will slowly move westwards, eventually coming out into the waters again as it takes aim at northern Vietnam next.
Photo: Workers cut redundant branches off of trees in Hainan
Vietnam cancels hundreds of flights and shuts down airports ahead of Typhoon Yagi arrival
Four airports in northern Vietnam, including Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, will be closed on Saturday, Vietnam's civil aviation authority said.
Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport will remain closed from 10am to 7pm local time (3am to noon GMT).
Airports in the coastal cities of Quang Ninh and Haiphong will be shut from early Saturday until 4pm the same day, and the airport in Thanh Hoa will suspend services from midday until late Saturday, CAAV said.
Airports are also shut in the port city of Haiphong and the province of Quang Ninh, home to the UNESCO heritage site Ha Long Bay and many large factories.
About 240 domestic and 70 international flights would be suspended to "ensure absolute safety" and "prevent the impact of the storm on the technical infrastructure."
Why Super Typhoon Yagi's landfall is rare
Super Typhoon Yagi is expected to make landfall in Hainan in a few hours, marking the most severe storm to hit the island since 2014.
Before Yagi, the last super typhoon to hit Hainan was Rammasun, which killed 88 people and caused over 44 billion yuan ($6.25 billion) in damages.
Following a similar path as Rammasun, Yagi formed over the warm waters east of the Philippines and was projected to arrive as a Category 4 storm, bringing winds strong enough to overturn vehicles, uproot trees, and damage infrastructure.
Landfalls of this magnitude are rare for Hainan, where only nine out of 106 typhoons between 1949 and 2023 were classified as super typhoons.
Hainan residents brace for Typhoon Yagi
In Hainan, a tropical holiday island in southern China, residents were bracing for the powerful storm.
Schools were shut for the second day and flights were halted as the storm inched closer.
The province's meteorological service expected Yagi to make landfall somewhere between the province's Wenchang city and Xuwen county in neighboring Guangdong province later Friday.
People built sandbag barriers outside buildings to guard against possible floods and reinforced their windows with tape on Thursday, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.
The official China Daily said classes, work, transportation and businesses were suspended in parts of the province as early as Wednesday evening.
Some tourist attractions were closed and all flights at its international airport in Haikou city were grounded on Friday.
Hong Kong Stock Exchange shut today
Trading on the stock market, bank services and schools were halted in Hong Kong after the city’s weather authority raised a No. 8 typhoon signal for Typhoon Yagi, the third-highest warning under the city’s weather system.
The warning will stay in place until noon before potentially getting downgraded as the storm moves away from Hong Kong.
Typhoon Yagi to make landfall as it inches closer to Hainan
Super Typhoon Yagi is inching closer to China’s southern coast as it is set to make landfall today.
Packing winds of 152mph, the storm is one of the strongest in Asia this year and equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane.
The storm is moving at a speed of 20km and is about to make landfall somewhere between Hainan’s Wenchang city and Xuwen county in neighbouring Guangdong province this afternoon.
Yagi has maintained its intensity as a super typhoon and is likely to weaken slightly as it interacts with land, but it will still hit the region with significant force.
After China, Yagi will move towards Laos and Vietnam.
Here’s the storm’s path:
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