Typhoon approaches China and Vietnam, already thousands of evacuations

Tens of thousands of people in southern China and Vietnam are due to be evacuated on Monday, and dozens of flights canceled due to a typhoon approaching the mainland, according to local authorities. The country’s weather services say that Talim (as it is called) will be accompanied by strong winds and heavy rains, which are expected to sweep the coast of China’s southern provinces of Guangdong and Hainan when the typhoon makes landfall on Monday evening.

An orange warning was issued indicating that the storm is expected to gradually develop into a major typhoon. This is the second highest warning on a scale of four. As scientists warn that storms are expected to become more and more severe due to global warming, Typhoon Talim “could be one of the most important to hit the Gulf of Tonkin in recent years,” according to the Vietnamese organization in charge of natural disasters. disasters.

Increasingly powerful cyclones

At least 1,000 people have already been evacuated from the city of Yunfu in the Chinese province of Guangdong, according to the Southern Daily newspaper. As for financial transactions on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, one of the most important financial centers in the world, they are suspended. Transport has also been affected and most buses no longer run around the city. More than 1,000 travelers have been affected by flight cancellations and delays, according to the Hong Kong Airport Authority. Nearby Macau Airport canceled 80 flights.

Around 2:00 pm local time (7:00 am French time), the typhoon was 280 kilometers southwest of Hong Kong. Vessels around Hainan Island are strongly advised to return to port quickly as waves can reach up to 6 meters in the coming hours. In neighboring Vietnam, authorities were preparing to evacuate 30,000 people in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong provinces, which are expected to be hardest hit since Monday afternoon.