Vietnam announced plans to evacuate more than half a million people and ordered boats to stay ashore, while the southern Chinese city of Sanya closed businesses and public transport yesterday as both braced for an intensifying Typhoon Kajiki.
The storm is forecast to ‘brush past’ the southern coast of China’s island province of Hainan before heading for Vietnam, China’s National Meteorological Centre said.
As of 0900 GMT, the storm had gained strength, with winds reaching 166kmph, according to Vietnam’s national weather forecast agency.
It is likely to strengthen further with wind speeds as high as 180kmph, China’s weather forecaster said.
Authorities in Vietnam plan to evacuate more than 586,000 people from the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, Hue and Danang, where the typhoon is forecast to make landfall early this morning, state media reported.
People in the projected path should not go outdoors, and soldiers are standing by to help, the government said.
Seven coastal provinces in Vietnam banned boats from leaving shore, Tien Phong newspaper reported.
Vietnam Airlines cancelled at least 22 flights to and from central cities yesterday and today. Vietjet Aviation said it was cancelling or delaying flights but did not provide details.
China’s Sanya, renowned for seafront resorts and sandy beaches, closed tourist attractions, shuttered businesses and suspended public transport.
China’s weather agency forecast heavy rainfall and strong winds in Hainan and nearby Guangdong province and Guangxi region, with areas in Hainan set to receive as much as 320mm of rain until today.
Sanya issued a red typhoon alert – the highest in China’s colour-coded warning system – and raised its emergency response to the most severe level, according to posts on the local government’s WeChat account.
City officials convened a meeting, urging preparations for ‘worst-case scenarios’, the government said.
All classes and construction were suspended, and shopping centres, restaurants and supermarkets were closed from yesterday. Vessels have been ordered to stop operating in Sanya’s waters.
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