Tropical storm “Yagi” has strengthened into a typhoon over the South China Sea and is causing alarm in the neighboring countries. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, it initially headed from the Philippines towards Hong Kong and mainland China, where it was expected to arrive on Friday.
According to the local weather authority, it is expected to make landfall in the east of the southern Chinese island of Hainan and on the coast of the mainland province of Guangdong. According to meteorologists, the storm could even become stronger and develop into a super typhoon. This is what experts call a tropical cyclone when it reaches wind speeds of more than 240 kilometers per hour.
After China, Vietnam is the first country on its route, where “Yagi” could make landfall between Sunday and Monday. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued an urgent instruction on Tuesday to the ministries, agencies and local authorities in several coastal provinces to take immediate measures to be able to react quickly. In neighboring Laos, people were also warned of severe storms.
Number of deaths in the Philippines rises
In the Philippines, where “Yagi” had raged as a tropical storm in recent days, the death toll from flooding, flash floods and landslides has risen to 16. 21 people are missing. Around 1.7 million people in the Southeast Asian island state were affected by the storms, according to the national disaster management agency and the police.
Around 88,000 people had to leave their homes and were housed in evacuation centers. In some parts of the country, people waded through chest-high floodwaters. Many had to be rescued from their homes in boats. In some cases, school classes were canceled, flights had to be cancelled and shipping traffic was temporarily halted.
The Philippines is hit by an average of about 20 typhoons every year. The worst storm to date, “Haiyan,” claimed the lives of more than 6,300 people in November 2013.
