Super Typhoon Yagi Hits Southern China

Super Typhoon Yagi battered southern China with heavy rain and powerful winds, causing flight cancellations and school closures. It became the second-most powerful tropical cyclone this year, following Atlantic's Hurricane Beryl. The storm's effects were felt across the region, influencing transport, businesses, and daily life.

Powerful gales and heavy rain from Super Typhoon Yagi drenched southern China on Friday, resulting in school closures for a second day and flight cancellations. The storm, one of the strongest to hit Asia this year, is expected to make landfall along Hainan's tropical coast, bringing maximum sustained winds of 245 km per hour (152 mph) near its eye.

Since devastating northern Philippines earlier this week, Yagi has more than doubled in strength and is projected to land along China's coast from Wenchang on the island of Hainan to Leizhou in Guangdong province. The storm brought thunderstorms and lightning across the region overnight and on Friday morning.

Vietnam's Civil Aviation Authority announced the closure of four northern airports, including Hanoi's Noi Bai International, on Saturday. Transport links across southern China were largely shut down on Friday with numerous flights cancelled in Hainan, Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. The main bridge linking Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai in Guangdong was also closed.

In Hong Kong, the stock exchange remained closed, with the typhoon signal 8 to be lowered by 12:40 pm as winds were expected to weaken. Hong Kong's observatory warned residents of continued heavy rainbands and advised them to stay away from the shoreline.

The Chinese government deployed task forces to Guangdong and Hainan for flood and typhoon prevention. In Hainan's capital Haikou, streets were deserted as people took refuge indoors, evidenced by social media posts. Super Typhoon Yagi's landfall in Hainan is rare, as most typhoons hitting the island are weaker.

Scientists attribute the increasing strength of typhoons to climate change and warmer oceans. Last week, Typhoon Shanshan struck southwestern Japan, becoming the strongest storm in decades. Yagi, which means 'goat' in Japanese, is named after the constellation Capricornus.

(With inputs from agencies.)