Move FM Global News

BEIJING, China: A typhoon altered its course and struck Hainan Island, southern China, late on the night of June 13. Typhoon Wutip made landfall in Basuo township, hitting the city of Dongfang in Hainan province as a severe tropical storm, according to the Hainan Meteorological Service. The typhoon boasted maximum sustained winds of 30 meters (98 feet) per second.

This marks only the second instance in 70 years that the island has experienced the nation’s first typhoon of the year. Typhoon Wutip was anticipated to reach the Chinese mainland around noon, near the border of Guangdong province and the Guangxi region.

In response, authorities in Guangdong province evacuated over 10,000 residents, closed schools, and canceled flights, trains, and ferry services. It remains uncertain whether Typhoon Wutip has resulted in any fatalities or injuries.

Images shared by a Chinese news outlet displayed fallen trees and scattered corrugated metal at a construction site in Sanya, a well-known beach resort on Hainan. As a precaution, all schools, construction sites, and tourist attractions in Sanya were shut down, and flights were suspended at the local airport, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

On the night of June 12, rescuers responded to a distress call from a cargo ship and successfully rescued a dozen crew members in rough seas with 3-meter (10-foot) waves. Typhoon Wutip had maximum sustained winds of 74 miles per hour upon landfall.

In Guangdong, rescue boats and helicopters were mobilized, while more than 49,000 fishing vessels returned to port. The provincial meteorological agency warned of heavy rainfall and the possibility of tornadoes.

The name “Wutip,” which means “butterfly” in Cantonese, is drawn from the naming conventions during the typhoon season, contributed by countries and Chinese regions such as Hong Kong and Macao.

The last time the first typhoon landed on the island was in 2008, with Typhoon Neoguri, which means “raccoon” in Korean.