Super Typhoon Yagi sets sight on Vietnam after tearing through China's Hainan

BEIJING — Super Typhoon Yagi, Asia's most powerful storm in 2024, churned towards the northern coast of Vietnam on Sep 7 after tearing through China's southern island province of Hainan with lightning, rain and violent winds.

Yagi made landfall in Hainan on Sep 6, packing maximum sustained winds of 234kmh near its centre, downing trees and flooding roads.

Power supply to more than 800,000 homes was cut.

No injuries or deaths have been reported, but the island province of more than 10 million people remained paralysed on Sep 7, with all public transportation links still broken.

Yagi formed over the sea to the east of the Philippine archipelago on Sep 1.

On gaining strength, it became a tropical storm and swept across Luzon, the most populous island in the Philippines, killing at least 16 people and injuring 13.

The storm grew dramatically stronger late in the week, becoming the world's most powerful tropical cyclone in 2024 after the Category 5 Atlantic hurricane Beryl, and the most severe in the Pacific basin in 2024.

As of 0100 GMT on Sep 7, Yagi was spinning towards northern Vietnam over the Gulf of Tonkin.

Maximum wind speeds had eased slightly to the levels of a Category 3 typhoon from Category 4, coming in at 187 kmh, according to Chinese meteorological authorities.

With super typhoon winds, Yagi whirls towards Southern China