Typhoon Yagi tracker: Schools and airports shut for second day in China as Vietnam next in storm’s path

Super Typhoon Yagi is inching closer to China’s southern coast as it is set to make landfall today.

Packing winds of 152mph, the storm is one of the strongest in Asia this year and equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane.

The storm is moving at a speed of 20km and is about to make landfall somewhere between Hainan’s Wenchang city and Xuwen county in neighbouring Guangdong province this afternoon.

Yagi has maintained its intensity as a super typhoon and is likely to weaken slightly as it interacts with land, but it will still hit the region with significant force.

After China, Yagi will move towards Laos and Vietnam.

Here’s the storm’s path:

Powerful gales and heavy rain from Super Typhoon Yagi drenched southern China on Friday, with schools shut for the second day and flights cancelled.

China’s government sent task forces to Guangdong and Hainan to guide flood and typhoon prevention, official news agency Xinhua said as authorities issued high risk warnings for geological disasters in northern Shanxi, southern Guangdong and most areas of Hainan island.

In Hainan’s capital Haikou, streets were deserted as people stayed indoors, photographs on social media showed.

A map from Accuweather shows the worst of the storm sitting east, west and south of the island of Hainan, and just off Vietnam.

Residents of the city of Haikou on the island of Hainan are in the direct line of super-typhoon Yagi, it’s claimed.

“This is a very dangerous situation for the city of Haikou, #Hainan, a city that has 2 million people who are in great danger as it looks like Typhoon #Yagi is making a direct aim on it,” said @StormHQwx, a social media account that gives storm forecasts and analysis.

It’s only a week since Typhoon Shanshan lashed Japan, killing six people and injuring at least 130.

Two men and a woman in Hong Kong were injured during the storm and needed hospital treatment, the South China Morning Post reports.

And 32 reports of fallen trees have been received, it said.

A second amber warning of heavy rain was issued.

Footage from ​​Hong Kong International Airport illustrates how strong the winds already are in the region.

Yagi strengthened into a super-typhoon on Wednesday night as it barreled towards China.

Typhoons are becoming stronger, fuelled by warmer oceans, amid climate change, scientists say. Read more here about typhoons around the world since 2017.

Gale-force winds are hitting Hong Kong and the Pearl River Estuary, with occasional storm winds offshore and on high ground, the Hong Kong Observatory said.

Yagi, which is skirting the southwest of the territory, has intensified slightly.

Intense rainbands associated with Yagi will continue to bring heavy squally showers, the observatory said, adding: “Members of the public should remain on the alert.”