Super Typhoon Yagi has left at least two dead in southern China, according to a report from the authorities on Saturday, September 7, and is continuing its devastating path towards Vietnam, where it could hit the famous Halong Bay in particular.
Yagi, which could be the strongest storm in a decade to hit the region, brought heavy rain and wind gusts of over 230 km/h to China, uprooting many trees.
The powerful typhoon killed at least two people and injured 92 others on the southern Chinese resort island of Hainan, known for its sandy beaches and luxury hotels, according to an initial death toll on Saturday by the official Xinhua news agency. Some 460,000 people had been evacuated to safety on the island, according to state television CCTV.
Heavy rains
Television images showed extremely heavy rain and countless uprooted trees, some of which fell on cars.
In the neighbouring province of Guangdong (southern China), the authorities indicated on Friday that they had also evacuated more than 574,000 inhabitants to safe places.
The airport in Haikou, the capital of Hainan in the north of the island, will be temporarily closed until Sunday noon, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The city was badly hit, with much of the road traffic disrupted by fallen trees. Sanya airport in the south of the island planned to resume normal operations on Saturday morning.
Chinese media images from parts of Hainan and Guangdong showed extensive damage. CCTV showed footage of a Hainan hotel with a gutted lobby, broken computers and piles of metal structures on the ground, with French windows blown off by the force of the wind.
In the city of Leizhou in Guangdong, road workers wearing helmets were clearing a large number of trees that had fallen onto the roadway on Saturday, according to images from the channel.
Preventive evacuations in Vietnam
The typhoon was expected to hit northern and north-central Vietnam on Saturday morning, on the coast between Hai Phong and Quang Ninh, and make landfall around midday, according to official forecasts. It will pass through Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had called on local authorities before the storm to evacuate residents from dangerous areas. He also asked other residents not to leave their homes.
Some 20,000 people have been evacuated and transported to safer, higher-altitude areas in northern Hai Phong, Thai Binh and Hanoi, local authorities said. They have been housed in schools, kindergartens and other public buildings.
More than 457,000 military personnel were mobilized by the Defense Ministry’s Rescue and Relief Department.
Northern Vietnam has been hit by heavy rain and strong winds since Friday night, including in Hanoi. A woman was killed in the capital when a tree fell onto the street on Friday afternoon after heavy rain.
Four airports in the north of the country, including the capital’s Noi Bai International Airport, have been closed and navigation has been banned since Friday.
13 dead in the Philippines
Yagi killed at least 13 people in the Philippines this week, while still classified as a tropical storm. It caused flooding and landslides on the main island of Luzon before strengthening into a super typhoon in recent days.
The typhoon then passed within 400 kilometres of Hong Kong on Thursday night, bringing heavy rainfall. The Hong Kong stock market was suspended on Friday and schools were closed, but damage was limited.
Southern China is frequently hit by typhoons in summer and autumn that form in the warm oceans east of the Philippines and Thailand.
But typhoons in the region are forming closer to shore than before, intensifying more quickly and staying over land longer because of climate change, according to a study published in July.
- BFMTV.com
