Typhoon Yagi intensifies, expected to make landfall across Northern Vietnam

Super typhoon Yagi is now roaring into the Gulf of Tonkin and is expected to blast the mainland of Vietnam on Friday, according to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, said Yagi was churning across the northeastern half of the East Sea on September 6, roughly 200 kilometers east-southeast of China’s Hainan Island and 620 kilometers southeast of Vietnam’s Quang Ninh province.

It was traveling westward at around 20 km/h, with gusts surpassing 201 kph near the eye.

Yagi is expected to hammer the northern coast of Vietnam with gale-force winds reduced to 117 kph. As it moves further inland, it will continue to lose strength and become a low pressure system.

In the next 24 hours, the super typhoon will bring severe gusts, storm surges, and high waves to the sea and shore, as well as strong winds and widespread heavy rain on land.

Meteorologists predict that Yagi will drop 200-350mm, or potentially 500mm, of rain on several areas of northern Vietnam over the next 24 hours.

Heavy rain could lead to severe flooding in low-lying and vulnerable areas, flash floods in small rivers and streams, and landslides on steep slopes in mountainous localities.

Southern China’s Hainan province has evacuated over 400,000 people ahead of the projected landfall, while tens of thousands are preparing to seek refuge in neighboring Vietnam from what is likely to be the biggest storm to hit the region in over a decade.

Yagi killed at least 13 people in the Philippines earlier this week while still classified as a tropical storm, causing flooding and landslides on the country’s major island of Luzon before intensifying into a super typhoon during the last several days.