More than 340,000 people have been evacuated, rail services suspended and workplaces shut across parts of southern China as Typhoon Noul approaches Guangdong province, prompting widespread travel disruptions, including flight cancellations in Hong Kong.
China’s National Meteorological Center (NMC) said the typhoon is expected to make landfall along the Guangdong coast between Shenzhen and Haifeng early Sunday.
The agency issued a red typhoon alert on Saturday night, the highest warning level in China’s four-tier weather alert system.
Heavy rainfall is forecast to lash Guangdong as well as neighbouring Hunan, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces from Saturday night through Sunday. At landfall, Noul is expected to pack maximum sustained winds of between 151 and 173 kilometres per hour (94-107 mph).
State news agency Xinhua reported that more than 340,000 residents had been evacuated from vulnerable areas in Guangdong.
Authorities in 12 cities, including Guangzhou, Dongguan and Shantou, have fully or partially suspended schools, workplaces, business activities and public transportation as a precaution.
State broadcaster CCTV also reported that all rail services across Guangdong would be suspended on Sunday.
Hong Kong braces for impact
Hong Kong issued its third-highest typhoon warning on Saturday night, with authorities opening 28 temporary shelters across the city for residents in need.
The Hong Kong Observatory said it would consider raising the warning to the second-highest level early Sunday, warning that local winds would strengthen significantly overnight.
The Airport Authority Hong Kong said at least 49 flights had been cancelled and 238 delayed, cautioning that many more flights were likely to be affected on Sunday.
Cathay Pacific announced it had cancelled all flights scheduled to arrive at or depart from Hong Kong International Airport between 1:15 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. local time on Sunday.
“A small number of other flights will be delayed as we set up our flying plan to resume once the typhoon passes,” the airline said.
In neighbouring Guangdong, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport said airlines would adjust flight schedules from Sunday morning until around midday depending on weather conditions.
High disaster risk
Meteorologists described Typhoon Noul as posing a significant threat because of its expected deep inland penetration, prolonged duration, heavy cumulative rainfall and track across complex terrain.
Authorities on Saturday upgraded Guangdong’s emergency response for flood and typhoon control to Level III, while flood emergency responses were also activated in Jiangxi and Hunan provinces.
The storm comes weeks after extreme weather battered southern and central China. Earlier this month, Typhoon Maysak triggered severe flooding in Guangxi, killing 39 people, while thunderstorms and gale-force winds linked to the storm left 11 people dead and 331 injured in Hubei province.
Scientists have warned that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events as rising global temperatures, driven largely by fossil fuel emissions, continue to warm the planet.
China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, but it is also the world’s leading investor in renewable energy and has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
