Super Typhoon Yagi headed toward China’s island province of Hainan on Friday, where authorities were bracing for what could be the strongest storm to hit the country’s southern coast in a decade.
The typhoon is expected to make landfall later Friday on the coast of Hainan – a popular holiday destination – and neighbouring Guangdong province, state news agency Xinhua said, citing authorities.
The Ministry of Water Resources on Thursday raised the emergency response to flooding in the two provinces to the third level.
“Yagi will likely be the most powerful typhoon to hit China’s southern coast since 2014, making flood prevention work very difficult,” Xinhua said after a meeting of flood officials.
With winds of more than 150 mph (240 km/h), the typhoon “is equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane,” according to NASA ground data.
Yagi passed less than 400 kilometers from Hong Kong on Thursday night, bringing heavy rainfall.
The city’s third-highest typhoon warning level will be in place until 12:40 p.m. (0440 GMT).
The Hong Kong stock market was suspended on Friday, schools remained closed and public transport was restricted.
Authorities said three people were injured but damage was limited as heavy storms continued to batter the city Friday.
Southern China is frequently hit by typhoons in summer and autumn that form in the warm oceans east of the Philippines and Thailand.
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.
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