On the island of Hainan, referred to as "China's Hawaii", authorities have ensured that over 400,000 people have been moved to safety. And in Guangdong, the mainland province where Yagi is expected next, an additional half a million people have been evacuated.
In the city of Wenchang, with a half a million inhabitants, on Hainan, amateur footage shows people being helplessly swept around by gusts of wind and lashed by heavy rain. The air pressure in Yagi has been measured at around 925 hectopascals, and in some places even lower, which is described as record-low levels over land.
Yagi claimed over ten lives in the Philippines earlier in the week. Then, the storm was categorized as a tropical storm, but now it has strengthened significantly.
After Hainan, Yagi is expected to move further out over the Tonkin Bay between China and Vietnam. On Saturday, the storm will therefore affect northeastern Vietnam and Guangxi in southern China.
