HONG KONG: Schools were suspended and some flights cancelled in cities in southern China on Thursday (September 4) as Tropical Storm Yagi strengthened into a super typhoon and headed directly towards the resort island province of Hainan.

The typhoon moved westward over the South China Sea with wind speeds of up to 209 km/h and headed toward Hainan, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

“According to the provincial disaster management authority, Hainan upgraded its emergency response for Yagi to the highest level at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday,” Xinhua said.

The typhoon is expected to make landfall in either Hainan or neighboring Guangdong on Friday afternoon.

In Haikou, the capital of Hainan, work, school and local transport services were suspended from Thursday afternoon.

In Hong Kong, which Yagi is expected to bypass, the weather observatory said it would issue the third-highest typhoon warning for the city at 6:20 p.m., leading to public transport restrictions across the financial hub.

Classes in kindergartens and special schools in Hong Kong were suspended on Thursday, while low-cost airline Hong Kong Express said six flights had been postponed.

Greater Bay Airlines said it would cancel four flights and postpone two others due to weather conditions.

“Yagi will continue to maintain super typhoon intensity and pass about 300 kilometers southwest of Hong Kong tomorrow morning,” the observatory said.

“The storm winds associated with Yagi are expected to affect the area around the Pearl River Estuary tonight and tomorrow morning.

All flights to and from Haikou Airport on Hainan will be suspended from 8 p.m. Thursday to midnight Friday, local authorities said, as beaches and tourist attractions on the coast will be closed.

Super Typhoon Yagi is expected to make rare landfall on Hainan as most typhoons on the duty-free island are classified as weak. From 1949 to 2023, 106 typhoons made landfall on Hainan, but only 9 were classified as super typhoons.

After southern China, Yagi will continue towards Vietnam, reaching the northern and north-central regions around the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay.

Vietnam’s weather service issued a storm warning on Thursday and the government mobilized more than 2,700 military personnel to respond to the storm.

A shipping ban is planned for Friday in the coastal provinces, while rescue vehicles must be made available in Vietnam’s mountainous provinces.

The Yagi attack killed at least 13 people in the Philippines earlier this week.