China is currently in the middle of the “Golden Week” holiday, but Guangdong and Hainan provinces are facing another typhoon threat. The China Meteorological Administration issued an orange typhoon alert for Typhoon Medm on the morning of October 4. The strength of Typhoon Medm is gradually increasing, and it is expected to make landfall along the coast between Dianbai in Guangdong and Wanning in Hainan on the daytime of October 5. Hainan’s Haikou has announced the suspension of work and transportation in anticipation of the typhoon.
According to the China Meteorological Administration, the orange typhoon alert was issued at 6 a.m. on the 4th of October. Typhoon Medm strengthened from a severe tropical storm to a typhoon in the early hours of the 4th. At 5 a.m., the center of the typhoon was located approximately 830 kilometers north of the South China Sea, off the east-southern coast of Xuweng County in Zhanjiang, Guangdong. It has a maximum wind force of 12 on the Beaufort scale (33 meters per second) and a minimum central pressure of around 975 hPa.
Typhoon Medm is expected to move in a west-northwest direction at a speed of 25 to 30 kilometers per hour, gradually strengthening as it approaches the western part of Guangdong and the eastern part of Hainan. It is forecasted to make landfall along the coast between Dianbai in Guangdong and Wanning in Hainan on October 5 during the day (13 to 14 on the Beaufort scale, 38 to 45 meters per second), reaching typhoon to severe typhoon levels.
Over the next 48 hours, Typhoon Medm is expected to bring severe wind and rain impacts to Guangdong. The province of Guangdong upgraded its emergency response level from Level IV to Level II at 9 a.m. on the 4th of October.
The official announcement from Haikou, capital of Hainan, states that a series of suspensions, known as the “6 Stops,” will be implemented from the afternoon of the 4th to the 5th. This includes suspensions of classes (at training institutions), work, transportation, flights, parks (public parks and tourist attractions), and business operations. The specific implementation times will be subject to subsequent announcements.
Haikou Meilan International Airport has indicated that all inbound and outbound flights operated by airlines at the airport will be canceled starting from 11 p.m. on the 4th of October. The resumption of operations will depend on the dynamic of the typhoon and its impact.
As China is currently in the midst of a long holiday period, the typhoon may bring inconvenience to tourists.
The Ministry of Water Resources on the mainland has forecasted that from the 4th to the 7th of October, there will be heavy rainfall in parts of southern and southwestern China. Floods may occur in several rivers along the western coast of Guangdong, as well as in the Yunnan and Guangxi regions, due to the influence of Typhoon Medm. Some small to medium-sized rivers in the areas of heavy rainfall may experience floods exceeding warning levels.