Super Typhoon Yagi hits China, sets sights on Vietnam next

Super Typhoon Yagi makes landfall on China’s Hainan as 400,000 evacuated

Super Typhoon Yagi, one of the world's strongest storms this year, slammed into China's Hainan island on Friday, flooding the southern coast. 

The super typhoon, which has already left a trail of destruction in Philippines, brought strong winds and rain to the region, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate in Hainan province, schools to close, trade to a halt and flights to Hong Kong and Macau to be cancelled.

The storm's wind speeds reached 245 kilometres per hour, making Yagi the world's second strongest tropical cyclone in 2024. The eye of the typhoon reached the northern tip of Hainan island on Friday, according to weather maps. 

After hitting most of China, it is expected to move towards Vietnam and Laos over the weekend. Hainan province was forced to relocate 419,367 residents and transport and commercial facilities across the region were closed, including the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge, the world's longest sea bridge.

The storm also closed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. A map of the typhoon's path by the Japan Meteorological Agency shows the storm crossing Hainan island before moving towards northern Vietnam and making landfall again.

Four airports in northern Vietnam were closed, including Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi. In addition to Vietnam, Laos and Thailand are also bracing for the typhoon's impacts over the weekend as the storm's outer bands bring rain and gusty winds.

The violent tropical storm intensified into a super typhoon on Thursday morning with wind gusts exceeding 250 kph, making it a Category 5  typhoon in various classifications, the highest storm classification of "terrible typhoon," according to the weather bureau. 

The storm has already claimed at least 16 lives in the Philippines, causing heavy rains and landslides before moving westward. Damage has been severe in the Philippines, where the storm is known locally as Enteng. 

Landslides, floods and strong winds have caused widespread destruction, especially in the northern region. In the tourist city of Antipolo, three people, including a pregnant woman, were killed by landslides, and four more lives were lost due to flooding. 

The storm also caused significant traffic disruptions, with flights canceled, sea traffic halted and  thousands of people stranded.