BEIJING: A tropical depression in the South China Sea strengthened into the 15th typhoon of the year — named Soulik — on Thursday morning.
Reaching tropical storm level, it is the second typhoon to affect Hainan province in about two weeks, following the landfall of Super Typhoon Yagi on the island on Sept 6.
Meteorological authorities said that as of 10 am on Thursday, the center of Soulik was 115 kilometers northeast of Donghe city in Vietnam’s Quang Tri province. The maximum wind force near the center was recorded at 8 on the Beaufort scale (29 kilometers per hour), with gale-force winds extending up to a radius of 130 kilometers.
The Hainan provincial meteorological bureau issued a Level 4 typhoon warning, the lowest in the four-tiered system, at 10 pm on Wednesday to brace for Soulik.
The provincial committee for disaster reduction and relief then activated a matching emergency response.
Yagi, the super typhoon, caused severe damage in the province’s northern regions, while authorities forecast that Soulik will not directly hit the province but said it will pass near the southern coast of Sanya city.
The impact of Soulik is therefore expected to result in milder weather conditions than the destructive Yagi. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
