Southern China seeing more typhoons than usual this year – with another on the way
Mawar expected to make landfall on Sunday and weather forecasters say there could be more to come
As the Pearl River Delta braces for Mawar, the third tropical storm to hit the region in two weeks, meteorologists say the country has seen more typhoons than usual this year, and they arrived earlier in the season.
“Five typhoons are expected to intensify in September, with 1.8 making landfall in China,” said Liao Jun, deputy director of the contingency, disaster relief and public service department at the China Meteorological Administration. “We should keep a close watch for typhoons and not lower our guard.”
Mawar, which is expected to make landfall on Sunday, comes after Typhoon Hato and Severe Tropical Storm Pakhar battered the region in recent weeks.
The administration’s latest forecast showed that tropical depression Mawar had intensified into a typhoon at 6am on Friday and was 560km from Shenzhen, gaining force as it moved northwest at 10km/h. Coastal Fujian province and parts of Guangdong were expected to experience heavy rain and strong winds.
The typhoon was likely to affect the three-day BRICS summit to be held from Sunday in Xiamen, Fujian, according to Qian Yanhai, a senior meteorologist with the administration.
