Doksuri’s rain bands pummeled coastal communities in the Philippines, including isolated villages nestled in the rainforests. Thankfully, many were evacuated to safety before the storm, which packed winds of up to 175 km/h, made landfall.
Super Typhoon Doksuri brought heavy rains and flooding as it swept through the Philippines today. Photo: AP
The storm, dubbed a super typhoon by the China Meteorological Administration because it is up to 900 km in diameter, is expected to maintain its strength as it continues to move towards Taiwan and mainland China.
The agency raised the typhoon warning to its second-highest level and the manufacturing hub of Guangdong province warned of the worst storm in a decade. China expected the storm to make landfall early Friday morning.
Record-breaking temperatures wreaked havoc across the globe this past July, fueling wildfires in the United States and the Mediterranean. At the other extreme, scientists say global warming will also make hurricanes wetter, windier and more intense.
Doksuri will be the second typhoon to make landfall in mainland China in less than two weeks after Typhoon Talim made landfall in Guangdong on July 17.
Some rail services connecting densely populated cities such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hangzhou near China's southern and eastern coasts have been suspended.
Doksuri is expected to move northwest at 10-15 km/h and enter the northeastern part of the South China Sea starting Wednesday evening until Thursday morning, the China Meteorological Administration said.
Guangzhou Daily reported that this could be the strongest typhoon to hit or seriously affect eastern Guangdong in the past 10 years.
China has upgraded its emergency response from Level III to Level II, meaning an incoming typhoon could severely impact the entire country, according to the State Council's national emergency plan for flood control and drought relief.
China's meteorological agency has urged people to stock up on food, necessities and candles as a precaution.
Huy Hoang (according to Xinhua News Agency, Reuters, AP)
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