With super typhoon winds, Yagi whirls towards Southern China

HONG KONG — Southern Chinese provinces and cities braced for the arrival of super typhoon Yagi, shutting schools and postponing flights ahead of its expected landfall along Hainan's subtropical coast, in what could be the most powerful storm to hit China in years.

Yagi is the Japanese word for goat and for the constellation of Capricornus, a mythical creature that is half goat, half fish. It has more than doubled its strength since devastating northern Philippines earlier this week.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 209 kph (130 mph) near its eye, Yagi registers as the world's second-most powerful tropical cyclone in 2024 so far, after the Category 5 Atlantic hurricane Beryl in the summer.

Typhoons are becoming stronger, fuelled by warmer oceans, amid climate change, scientists say. Last week, Typhoon Shanshan slammed into southwestern Japan, the strongest storm to hit the country in decades.

Yagi strengthened into a super typhoon on Wednesday night (Sept 4) and is currently around 520 kms east of the city of Wenchang in Hainan, local authorities said on Thursday as they raised the typhoon alert to the highest level 1.

It is expected to move at a speed of 10-15 kmh (6-9 mph) bringing torrential rains to the southern coastal areas of Guangdong and Hainan island. Yagi is due to further strengthen and make landfall along the coast from Qionghai in Hainan to Dianbai, Guangdong from the afternoon to the night of Sept 6.

Trains and boats suspended operations in Hainan on Thursday morning, while many schools across southern China, including in the financial hub of Hong Kong and gambling hub Macau were shut.

Hong Kong said it would issue its third-highest typhoon signal, 8, on Thursday at 6.40 pm, which will shut many businesses and reduce transport in the special administrative region.

The city's weather observatory said intense rain bands would affect the territory later on Thursday with heavy showers to continue on Friday. Several flights due to leave and arrive from Hong Kong's international airport on Friday have been cancelled, airlines said.

If signal 8 remains in place on Friday morning, the city's stock exchange will close.

Guangdong province also upgraded its emergency response level to the highest for strong wind, while the nearby gambling hub of Macau said it would raise its tyhpoon 8 signal, like Hong Kong, between 8pm-11pm on Thursday.

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.

At least 13 people were killed in the Philippines earlier this week due to Yagi.

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