China hits first typhoon of year, with record rain forecast

China’s first typhoon of the year brought gales and rain to the country’s southern coast on Saturday, with meteorologists warning of record rains and a high risk of disaster in provinces like Guangdong, the country’s most populous.

Typhoon Chaba, the Thai name for the hibiscus flower, was moving northwest at between 15 km/h and 20 km/h after the eye of the storm hit Maoming city in Guangdong in the afternoon, the National Meteorological Center said. in a statement.

Chaba, although of medium intensity and expected to lose strength over time, is likely to bring extremely heavy rains and could break the cumulative rainfall record as it pulls the region’s monsoon rain belt inland, said Gao Shuanzhu, the center’s chief meteorologist.

“Abundant monsoon water vapor will lead to heavy rains and huge cumulative rainfall of an extreme nature,” Gao said, predicting up to 600mm of cumulative rain in some areas.

At risk are western Guangdong, where China’s typhoons often linger, eastern Guangxi Autonomous Region and the island province of Hainan, with storms causing landslides, urban flooding and flooding, Gao said.

Hainan raised its emergency response to Tier II, the second highest, on Saturday, suspended island-wide rail service and canceled more than 400 flights to and from the cities of Haikou and Sanya.

In Macau, one person was injured due to wind and rain on approach to Chaba, state television reported.

In the waters off Hong Kong, which is 270 km northeast of Maoming, more than two dozen crew on an engineering vessel with 30 people aboard were missing after it broke in two in waters off Hong Kong. as Chaba passed, officials said.

In recent weeks, historic rains and floods in southern China have destroyed property, paralyzed traffic and disrupted the daily lives of millions in one of the country’s most populous and economically important regions.

Extreme weather, including unusually severe flooding, is expected to continue in China through August, forecasters predicted this week, with climate change partly to blame.