With super typhoon winds, Yagi whirls towards Southern China

5/9/2024 15:58

        Southern Chinese provinces and cities braced for the arrival of super typhoon Yagi, shutting schools and postponing flights ahead of its expected landfall along Hainan's subtropical coast, in what could be the most powerful storm to hit China in years.
        
        Packing maximum sustained winds of 209 kph near its eye, Yagi registers as the world's second-most powerful tropical cyclone in 2024 so far, after the Category 5 Atlantic hurricane Beryl in the summer.
        
        Typhoons are becoming stronger, fuelled by warmer oceans, amid climate change, scientists say. Last week, Typhoon Shanshan slammed into southwestern Japan, the strongest storm to hit the country in decades.
        
        Yagi strengthened into a super typhoon on Wednesday night and is currently around 520 kms (323 miles) east of the city of Wenchang in Hainan, local authorities said on Thursday as they raised the typhoon alert to the highest level 1.