Typhoon Kajiki Escalates, Sanya Closes, Vietnam Plans Evacuations

Typhoon Kajiki has prompted significant emergency measures in southern China and Vietnam as it intensifies, threatening widespread disruption. The southern Chinese city of Sanya, a major tourist destination, has closed all tourist attractions, businesses, and public transportation while suspending classes and construction activities under a red typhoon alert, the highest level in China's warning system, to protect residents and visitors from the storm's destructive potential. The typhoon is expected to make landfall along Hainan's southern coast or skirt it before moving toward Vietnam, bringing heavy rainfall and powerful winds with predicted rainfall up to 400 mm in some areas. Vietnam has planned the evacuation of over half a million people from central provinces in anticipation of the storm's early Monday landfall and has prohibited boats from leaving shore, while airlines canceled numerous flights to central cities. Meteorological agencies in both countries forecast that Kajiki will continue to strengthen, with wind speeds potentially reaching 170 kph. These preemptive actions underscore the urgency to safeguard lives and infrastructure amid severe weather threats in the region.