Super Typhoon Yagi lashes south China, killing 4 and injuring 95

Beijing pledges 200 million yuan in disaster relief after this year’s second-strongest tropical cyclone sweeps Hainan, Guangdong and Guangxi

Reading Time:2 minutes

Strong wings from Super Typhoon Yagi batter coconut trees in Haikou, capital of south China’s island province of Hainan, on Friday. Photo: Xinhua via AP

Published: 1:20pm, 7 Sep 2024Updated: 8:18pm, 7 Sep 2024

China’s death toll from Super Typhoon Yagi – the world’s second-strongest tropical cyclone this year – has climbed to four, with 95 people injured in three southern provinces, state news agency Xinhua reported.

More than 1.2 million people in Hainan, Guangdong and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region were affected by the storm, and large-scale power outages and telecoms service disruptions were reported.

After sweeping Hong Kong, Yagi, the 11th typhoon in the Pacific region this year, made landfall twice on Friday – first hitting the island province of Hainan and later the southern province of Guangdong.

President Xi Jinping instructed local officials to “verify the casualties and losses in an urgent matter” as well as organise disaster relief efforts, fix damaged infrastructure and restore normal life as soon as possible, according to Xinhua.

The National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner, said it had allocated 200 million yuan (US$28.2 million) for disaster relief, with a focus on repairing roads, bridges and dams and restoring schools, hospitals and other public facilities.

Residents were evacuated from affected areas. Work, classes and businesses were suspended and flights were cancelled.