A popular tourist island in southern China has been hit by the strongest typhoon in a decade, leaving the area reeling from strong winds and heavy rain.
Typhoon Yagi hit the city of Wenchang in the northeast of Hainan Island with winds of 223 km/h (138 mph) at 16:00 local time (09:00 BST) on Friday, according to media reports.
Yagi is the strongest to hit Hainan since Rammasun in 2014, which left 46 people dead. The China Meteorological Agency said it was the strongest typhoon of the autumn.
About 400,000 people on Hainan Island were evacuated before Yagi’s arrival. Trains, boats and planes were grounded, and schools were closed.
Yagi – which doubled in strength after wreaking havoc in the northern Philippines earlier this week – is the second strongest typhoon so far this year.
Meteorologists say Yagi could cause “catastrophic” damage to Hainan and neighboring Guangdong, China’s most populous province.
Yagi is an “extremely dangerous and powerful” super typhoon that could turn from a “disaster” to a “catastrophe”, the Indo-Pacific Tropical Cyclone Warning Center warned in an advisory on Thursday.
A superstorm is the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane.
Shortly after the collapse, Hainan saw widespread power outages, local media reported, affecting about 830,000 households. Emergency teams, which include about 7,000 people, said power had been restored to 260,000 homes by Friday evening.
All tourist attractions have been closed since Wednesday by order of the authorities. who warned of “great and destructive winds”.
With its white sand beaches, luxury hotels and casual shops, Hainan has been called “China’s Hawaii”.
The world’s longest sea crossing, the main bridge connecting Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai in Guangdong, was also closed. The typhoon hit Guangdong for the second time on Friday evening, with winds of over 200km/h.
Parts of the region have been experiencing heavy rain and strong winds since Thursday. Meteorological authorities in China are expecting up to 500mm of rain.
Hainan is familiar with typhoons. But nine of the 106 typhoons that have hit Hainan since 1949 were classified as major typhoons, Reuters news agency reported.
Chinese authorities believe Yagi will be the strongest typhoon to hit its southern coast in a decade.
Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, trading in the city’s stock market was suspended and schools were closed. While five people were injured by the severe weather in the city, authorities said the damage was limited.
After hitting China, Yagi is expected to make landfall in northern Vietnam late Saturday in a weakened state.
Tens of thousands in Hai Phong and Thai Binh provinces will be evacuated to a safe place by the end of Friday, AFP news agency reported, citing local authorities.
The military has mobilized about 460,000 officers to help control the storm’s impact, Vietnamese media reported.
Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture warned that it could attack regions “important for the socio-economic development” of the region.
“Carelessness can cause a lot of damage,” said Nguyen Hoang Hiep.
Four airports in the north of the country, including Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, will be closed on Saturday as the typhoon is expected, Vietnam’s aviation authorities said.
Earlier this week, floods and landslides brought by Yagi killed at least 13 people in the northern Philippines, with thousands forced to evacuate to safer ground.
Scientists say storms and storms are getting stronger and often with climate change. Warmer ocean waters mean storms take on more energy, leading to higher wind speeds.
The warmer atmosphere also holds more moisture, which can lead to heavier rain.
The Yagi comes a week later typhoon Shanshan hit Japanat least six people died and hundreds were injured.
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