China Braces for Super Typhoon Yagi: Red Alert Issued as Flood Risks Surge in Hainan and Guangdong

China has warned of floods in some of its rivers in two provinces as Super Typhoon Yagi made landfall in the southern Hainan island on Friday raising widespread concerns about damage to life and property. Bracing for Super Typhoon Yagi, China's National Meteorological Centre renewed a red alert, the highest level on Friday morning. 

The 11th typhoon of the year, Super Typhoon Yagi made landfall on Friday at 4:20 pm in Wengtian township of Hainan Province with packing winds exceeding 234 km per hour, state-run news agency Xinhua said.

Flooding and Evacuations

China's Ministry of Water Resources warned that from Friday to Saturday, the Nandu River and Changhua River in Hainan, and Jianjiang River and Moyang River in Guangdong province could swell as heavy rainfall brought by the typhoon is expected to lash parts of south China. Meanwhile, another southern province of Guangdong has relocated over 5,70,000 residents as Super Typhoon Yagi is expected to make its second landfall later on Friday evening (local time), Xinhua quoted the provincial meteorological department as saying. 

Super Typhoon Yagi was forecasted to travel north-westward and make landfall along the coastal areas from Hainan's Wenchang to Leizhou in Guangdong Province, it said. At least 72 of the province's 94 waterway passenger routes and more than 140 pairs of high-speed railway trains were suspended while schools in 10 cities have also been temporarily closed, the officials said. As part of the preparation, the Ministry of Water Resources has raised the emergency response for floods in Guangdong and Hainan to Level III, and dispatched four work teams to guide flood prevention efforts in Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan.