Super Typhoon Yat Chase: 400,000 evacuated as deadly storm makes landfall in China

More than 400,000 people were evacuated from the southern Chinese island of Hainan ahead of Yagi’s arrival, according to Chinese state media.

“China’s southern province of Hainan evacuated 419,367 residents as of 11:30 a.m. on Friday as super typhoon Yaji approached,” state news agency Xinhua quoted local authorities as saying.

The eye of super typhoon Yagi has reached the northeastern tip of Hainan Island in southern China.

The typhoon’s force has been battering the island province since yesterday, with large areas also being affected, particularly Guangdong province.

Over the next few hours, the storm will move slowly westward and eventually move out to sea again, next targeting northern Vietnam.

Vietnam’s civil aviation authority said four airports in northern Vietnam, including Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, would be closed on Saturday.

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 Hai Phong will be closed from early Saturday morning until 4pm the same day, while Thanh Hoa airport will suspend operations from noon on Saturday until late at night, CAAV said.

Airports have also been closed in the port city of Hai Phong, home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Halong Bay and many large factories, and in Quang Ninh province.

Approximately 240 domestic flights and 70 international flights will be canceled “to ensure absolute safety” and “to prevent the storm from affecting technical infrastructure.”

Super Typhoon Yagi is expected to make landfall on Hainan island within hours, making it the most powerful storm to hit the island since 2014.

Before Typhoon Yagi, the last super typhoon to hit Hainan was Typhoon Ramsun, which killed 88 people and caused more than 44 billion yuan ($6.25 billion) in damages.

Yagi, which followed a similar path to Ramazan, was forecast to form in warm waters east of the Philippines and arrive as a Category 4 storm, packing winds strong enough to upset vehicles, uproot trees and damage infrastructure.

Of the 106 typhoons that have occurred in Hainan between 1949 and 2023, only nine have been classified as super typhoons, making landfall of this magnitude rare.

Residents of the tropical resort island of Hainan in southern China were bracing for a powerful storm.

Schools were closed for a second day and flights were halted as the storm approached.

The province’s meteorological bureau said Typhoon Yagi was expected to make landfall somewhere between the province’s Wenchang city and neighbouring Xuwen county in Guangdong province late on Friday.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday that people had built sandbag barriers outside buildings and reinforced windows with tape in preparation for flooding.

Classes, work, transport and businesses were suspended in parts of the province from Wednesday evening, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported.

Several tourist attractions were closed on Friday and all flights at Haikou city’s international airport were suspended.

Stock market trading, banking and schools were suspended in Hong Kong after the city’s meteorological authorities issued a Typhoon Warning of No. 8 for Typhoon Yagi, the third highest level in the city’s weather system.

The warning will remain in effect until midday but may be lifted as the storm moves away from Hong Kong.

Super Typhoon Yagi is gradually approaching the coast of southern China and is expected to make landfall today.

With sustained winds of 152 mph, the storm is one of the most powerful storms to hit Asia this year, equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane.

The storm is moving at 20 kilometres per hour and is expected to make landfall somewhere between Wenchang city in Hainan province and Xuwen county in neighbouring Guangdong province this afternoon.

Typhoon Yagi is maintaining its strength as a super typhoon and may weaken slightly as it interacts with land, but will still hit the region with considerable force.

After China, Yagi plans to head to Laos and Vietnam.

The storm’s path is as follows: