Super Typhoon Yagi Strikes Hainan, Disrupting Lives of Millions

By Farah Master and Liz Lee

HONG KONG/BEIJING – Asia’s most powerful storm this year, Super Typhoon Yagi, made landfall in Hainan, China on Friday, bringing destructive winds and heavy rainfall that led to extensive power outages in the tourist hotspot often referred to as "China’s Hawaii."

With maximum sustained winds of 234 km/h (145 mph) near its core, Yagi has been classified as the second-most powerful tropical cyclone worldwide in 2024, trailing only behind the Category 5 Atlantic hurricane Beryl, and is the most intense storm in the Pacific this year.

Yagi, which had rapidly intensified since claiming 16 lives in the northern Philippines earlier this week, struck the city of Wenchang in Hainan during the early afternoon.

Within an hour of Yagi’s arrival, power outages affected 830,000 households across Hainan, as reported by official sources.

To address the outages, the provincial power supply department mobilized a 7,000-member emergency team that was set to begin repairs as soon as conditions allowed. By Friday night, power restoration had begun, with 260,000 households receiving electricity again.

Prior to the storm’s onset, Hainan, famous for its sandy beaches and luxurious hotels, had canceled flights and ferries, closed businesses, and advised its population of over 10 million to stay indoors.

Yagi had already disrupted schools, businesses, and transportation in Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangdong province, while airports in Vietnam were also shut down as the storm is expected to impact the region over the weekend.

On the night of landfall, Yagi crossed the Qiongzhou Strait and made a second landfall in Guangdong, maintaining winds over 200 km/h.

As of noon, more than 574,500 residents had been evacuated from high-risk areas in Guangdong, with a significant portion coming from the city of Zhanjiang. In Hong Kong, the stock exchange remained closed, while schools were also shut down.

While Hong Kong reported that airport operations were returning to normal after the cancellation of 50 flights, the city’s typhoon alert was lowered as Yagi moved west towards Vietnam. The main bridge connecting Hong Kong to Macau and Zhuhai reopened after being closed.

However, the region continued to experience heavy rainfall and squally conditions, with neighboring Shenzhen issuing the highest alert for rainfall.

RARE LANDFALL

Yagi is noted as the most powerful storm to strike Hainan since Typhoon Rammasun in 2014, which made landfall as a Category Five cyclone, resulting in 88 fatalities and significant economic losses.

Some residents expressed relief that Yagi’s impact was not as severe as initially feared. One banana farmer noted that preliminary reports indicated minimal damage in Hainan, attributing this to the storm’s shift in landfall location.

Despite feeling relieved, many were still cautious as they prepared for the storm’s passage. Yagi formed over warm waters east of the Philippines and followed a trajectory similar to that of Rammasun, arriving in China as a Category Four typhoon capable of causing extensive damage.

The landfall of such powerful storms in Hainan is uncommon; since 1949, only nine out of 106 typhoons that struck the island have been classified as super typhoons. To date, there have been no reports of fatalities in Hainan.

Meteorologists note that typhoons are becoming increasingly intense due to climate change and warmer ocean temperatures. Last week, Typhoon Shanshan made landfall in southwestern Japan, marking the strongest storm there in decades.

Yagi is named after the Japanese word for goat, referencing the constellation of Capricornus, which is depicted as a mythical creature that is part goat and part fish.