Super Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful storm to hit Asia this year, made landfall in China’s Hainan province on Friday, bringing gales and heavy rain that led to power outages and forced around a million people to evacuate. With wind speeds of 234km/h, it ranks as the second most powerful cyclone of the year after Hurricane Beryl.
The storm caused power outages affecting 830,000 households in Hainan, with emergency repair crews working to restore power to affected areas. Schools, businesses, and transport links were shut down in Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangdong, as well as in Vietnam. The storm also crossed Qiongzhou Strait and made a second landfall in Guangdong, where over half a million people were evacuated from at-risk areas.
Though Yagi caused widespread damage to infrastructure, no fatalities have been reported so far. This storm is the most severe to hit Hainan since 2014’s Typhoon Rammasun, which killed 88 people and caused billions of dollars in economic losses.
Scientists warn that typhoons are becoming stronger due to warmer oceans, a result of climate change. Yagi follows Typhoon Shanshan, which hit Japan last week as the strongest storm in decades. The impact of these storms highlights the need for continued efforts to address climate change and its effects on extreme weather events.
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