HONG KONG, China: China’s southern regions are preparing for the impact of super typhoon Yagi, expected to be the strongest storm to hit the area in nearly a decade.
Yagi, which intensified into a super typhoon on Wednesday night, is currently located about 610 kilometers southeast of Xuwen County in Guangdong Province.
The storm is moving westward at 10-15 km/h and is anticipated to bring heavy rain to the coastal regions of Guangdong and Hainan.
Yagi is expected to make landfall between Qionghai in Hainan and Dianbai in Guangdong from the afternoon to night of September 6.
In anticipation, schools across southern China, including Hong Kong and Macau, have been closed. Hainan has also suspended train and boat services, and Haikou airport will halt all flights from Thursday evening to Friday midnight.
Hong Kong is considering issuing a high-level typhoon alert that could disrupt businesses and transportation.
Historically, Hainan rarely faces super typhoons; only nine out of 106 typhoons from 1949 to 2023 have been classified as such. The Philippines recently experienced Yagi’s wrath, with at least 13 fatalities reported earlier this week.
