Deadly Super Typhoon Yagi roars ashore in China
A deadly super typhoon has made landfall in China and now sets its sights on Vietnam.
With flooding severely impacting the Philippines, Yagi is heading to Hainan, China, where it will make the next landfall.
Typhoon Yagi made landfall near Wenchang, Hainan, China, at 4:20 p.m. Friday, local time, as a Category 4 hurricane equivalent on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (130-156 mph) and is tracking west-northwest.
The latest updates on Typhoon Yagi
The strong storm's arrival may have set a low atmospheric pressure record for the country and caused winds to gust to 110 mph at the Haikou International Airport. Haikou is the capital of Hainan and a city of more than three million residents. Unsourced videos on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed massive destruction.
Yagi is bringing catastrophic damage to China
The combination of rain, wind and storm surge will result in Yagi being a 4 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale in southern China, including Hainan Island, and a 2 in northern Vietnam, where it is eventually expected to strike as a severe tropical storm or typhoon Saturday, local time.
Fallen trees block a road amid strong wind and heavy rain as Typhoon Yagi makes landfall on September 6, 2024, in Wenchang, Hainan Province of China. Super Typhoon Yagi, the 11th typhoon of this year, made landfall in south China's Hainan Province on the afternoon of September 6, according to the province's emergency management headquarters. (Photo by Luo Yunfei/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
A satellite loop shows Super Typhoon Yagi making landfall in China on the evening of Sept. 6, 2024.
Following landfall over northeast Hainan Island Friday afternoon, local time, Typhoon Yagi will lose wind intensity as it tracks west-northwest Friday night into Saturday, local time. Yagi is expected to make another landfall in northern Vietnam, near Cái Rá»ng as a severe tropical storm or typhoon Saturday afternoon, local time, and then it should transition to a tropical rainstorm over southeast Asia by Sunday night, local time.
Wind gusts could be as high as 180 mph in China
Yagi is losing wind intensity following landfall in northeast Hainan Island, but wind gusts to 160 mph (260 km/h) with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 180 mph (290 km/h) are expected across the Leizhou Peninsula and northern Hainan Island through Friday night, local time. Wind gusts will continue to ease Saturday, Sept, 7, and Sunday, Sept. 8, but wind gusts will remain strong enough to continue to result in structural damage, power outages and logistical delays across southern China, northern Vietnam and northern Laos through Sunday, local time.
Rainfall from Yagi could exceed 30 inches
Yagi wil. continue to produce rainfall totals up to 16 inches (400 mm) with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 30 inches (760 mm) across southern Guangdong and Guangxi into Yunnan provinces of China, Hainan Island, northern Vietnam and into northern Laos and northern Thailand through Sunday, Sept. 8. The rainfall can result in flooding, mudslides and transportation disruptions.
13 people were killed in the Philippines by the storm
Severe flooding from the storm, known as Enteng in the Philippines, affected the island nation last weekend, before the storm even became a typhoon. Reuters reports that 13 people were killed.
Residents wade with an improvised float as they cross a flooded street caused by heavy rains from Tropical Storm Yagi on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Cainta, Rizal province, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Yagi is the 5th typhoon of the Pacific season
Yagi is the fifth typhoon of the 2024 Pacific typhoon season, which has included 11 tropical storms. Typically, the highest number of typhoons form in the Pacific between July and October, but they can develop any time of year.
Yagi means "goat" and also "Capricornus," the name for a constellation that represents a mythical half-goat, half-fish creature.
A total of eight Category 3-5 equivalent typhoons have made landfall on Hainan Island since 1950. The last super typhoon to strike Hainan Island was Typhoon Rammasun in 2014, which hit as a Category 5 equivalent, destroying 51,000 homes.
A map showing Category 3-5 equivalent (Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale) typhoons passing close to Hainan, China, since 1950.
