Typhoon Talim makes second landfall in China, heads for Vietnam
Beijing/Ho Chi Minh City, Jul 18 (EFE).- Typhoon Talim made its second landfall in China on Tuesday morning in the southeastern Chinese province of Guangxi as it headed west along the coast of the South China Sea towards the north of Vietnam, meteorological authorities reported.
Late on Monday night, Talim it made its first landfall, hitting the province of Guangzhou.
At 5.45 am Tuesday, in its second, it hit the city of Beihai before reaching Qinzhou at 9 am, according to the regional meteorological bureau cited by state news agency Xinhua.
Maximum wind speeds near the center of the typhoon reached 25 meters per second, and it was expected to move northwest at 15-20 kilometers per hour, it said, adding that rainstorms were forecast in the cities of Qinzhou, Fangchenggang and Chongzuo, with gusts reaching as high as 33 meters per second in the southern and central parts of the region.
The storm first hit the Guangzhou city of Zhanjiang at 22.20 pm local time (14:20 GMT) Monday night with maximum winds of up to 136.8 kph, said the Canton meteorological bureau.
More than 230,000 people were evacuated to safe areas in Canton, where authorities ordered the closure of 68 coastal tourist areas and the return of 2,702 fishing boats to port, according to Xinhua.
Several localities in southern China have suspended rail, air, and sea transport since Monday, and activities in schools and factories have also been suspended as a precaution.
Overnight, the typhoon caused strong winds and torrential rains in the provinces of Canton, Hainan, Guangxi and Yunnan, as well as in Hong Kong and Macau.
Authorities have also warned of waves of up to 9 meters in those areas as well as possible flooding in Guangzhou, Guangxi and Hainan, where several rivers were expected to overflow.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange suspended its operations Monday but resumed its activity Tuesday, while the city’s Observatory cancelled all typhoon signals as the storm moved away from the territory, according to state news outlet RTHK.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Vietnam, authorities reported the planned evacuation of 30,000 people in the north of the country in preparation for the storm to hit on Tuesday, reported Vietnam News Agency.
In addition, the northern provinces of Quang Ninh, Thai Binh and Nam Dịnh and the city of Hai Phong have banned fishing boats from operating and interrupted passenger vessel services.
Emergency services expect Talim to cause large-scale flooding in parts of the northern region due to heavy rainfall from the typhoon, one of the strongest to hit northern Vietnam in recent years.
The heavy rains, in addition, also carry the risk of landslides, authorities warn.
The main flood season in China usually occurs from late July to early August, during which there is often an increase in tropical cyclone activity, especially in the South China Sea and the Pacific. EFE
lcl-nc-tw/nt-ns/tw
