Fallen branches are seen on a street before the landfall of super typhoon Yagi in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, Sept. 6, 2024. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)
WEB DESK
Super Typhoon Yagi has made landfall on the Chinese island province of Hainan, state media reported, after more than 400,000 people were forced to evacuate.
The meteorological service in heavily populated Hainan said on Friday that Yagi, which was earlier packing maximum sustained winds of 245km/h (152mph) near its centre, hit the province’s Wenchang city at about 4:20pm (08:20 GMT).
Local authorities said the southern Chinese province of Hainan had relocated over 4 lakh residents ahead of Yagi’s arrival. Operations at multiple tourist attraction sites have been suspended, and traffic control measures have been implemented in the province. The world’s longest sea crossing, the main bridge linking Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai in Guangdong, was also closed.
Meteorologists say Yagi may cause “catastrophic” damage in Hainan and neighbouring Guangdong, which is also China’s most populous province.
Yagi is not just due to hit China but is also expected to make landfall in northern Vietnam late on Saturday in a weakened state.
A super typhoon is equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane.
Yagi, which has doubled in strength after wreaking havoc in northern Philippines early this week, is the second strongest typhoon so far this year.