Typhoon Wipha tears through southern China, threatens Vietnam's coasts

Straits Times

3 days ago

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Large parts of the Philippine capital were submerged in floodwaters as Typhoon Wipha crossed the archipelago on July 19.
Typhoon Wipha tore across southern China with heavy rains and gale-force winds on July 21, a day after slicing through Hong Kong and Macau, and leaving at least five dead in the Philippines.
Wipha made landfall with winds equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane in Taishan in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong late on July 20. It weakened into a storm as it made its way westwards and then veered southwards.
China's forecasters said coastal regions – including Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Funan – would experience intense downpours until early on July 22.
Wipha, the sixth typhoon of 2025, brought heavy showers, sea swells and winds of up to 175 kmh as it
skirted the southern edge of Hong Kong
on July 20.
Hong Kong
issued a No. 10 hurricane signal – the highest on its warning scale – for the first time since 2023 as Wipha approached.
More than 600 flights were rescheduled in Hong Kong and Macau.
Wipha was expected to keep traversing across southern China before moving offshore again and making landfall in Vietnam.
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Vietnam has put its coastal provinces on emergency footing, warning that Wipha may cause flooding and landslides.
Wipha is forecast to cross Vietnam's northern coast between Quang Ninh and Ninh Binh provinces.
Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent an urgent message to the coastal provinces on July 20 to call boats ashore, evacuate people from flood-prone areas, prepare food supplies and rescue equipment, and secure communication infrastructure.
'This is a strong and fast-moving typhoon,' Mr Chinh's message said.
Vietnam Airlines and its affiliate, Pacific Airlines, cancelled at least nine domestic flights on July 21, adding that more delays and reschedules are expected.
Budget airline Vietjet on July 21 cancelled 12 flights, including some to South Korea, due to the typhoon.
With a long coastline facing the South China Sea, Vietnam is prone to typhoons that are often deadly.
In 2024, Typhoon Yagi
killed around 300 people and caused $3.3 billion of damage.
Monsoon rains stoked by Wipha, meanwhile, drenched large swathes of the Philippines on July 21, triggering floods that led to the suspension of classes and work in the capital region and in nearby cities and provinces.
Emergency response officials said at least five people were killed, and close to 100,000 people displaced from Wipha's onslaught over the weekend.
Dozens had died in recent days in Vietnam and South Korea from monsoon rains and a generally rainy week across the region.
At least 35 people died after a tourist boat ferrying families around Vietnam's famed Halong Bay capsized on July 19 following a sudden thunderstorm.
In South Korea, at least 17 people had died following torrential rains that set off landslides in the southern and central parts of the country.