HAINAN, China — A devastatingly large typhoon has killed over 100 civilians in China on Friday afternoon, according to Reuters and state media. The typhoon has hit certain regions of the Philippines leaving many injured and some dead.
According to Reuters, “the natural disaster, currently known as Typhoon Rammasum, has reached the southern Chinese island province of Hainan on Friday, before hitting several areas of the mainland eventually on Friday and early morning on Saturday,” said the official Xinhua news agency.
The government has issued a command for an immensely concentrated effort to prevent further losses of lives from Rammasum; the super typhoon has proven to be the strongest to strike southern China in more than four decades.
Categorized by the China Meteorological Association as a “super typhoon,” according to news source CNN, Rammasum has made landfall on island province of Hainan at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Friday.
“The super typhoon has damaged more than 26,000 houses, around 7,000 of those destroyed,” the agency said.
After causing initial destruction to the islands in the Philippines, Rammasum has started to regain its strength, striking the islands of southern China. Currently, it is bearing down its wrath on Hainan and Guangdong provinces in southern China.
According to news source Reuters, the storm has damaged an estimated 5.85 billion Philippine pesos ($134 million) worth of crops and infrastructure, which includes roads and bridges.
The typhoon has struck multiple cities in the Chinese provinces of Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan, slashing down many trees and various power lines, also whacking a few power grids as well.
With fierce winds reaching 155 mph, Rammasum has engendered heavy damage from its winds, in addition to causing major flooding.
Being labeled as a “perfect storm,” by Suomi weather satellite, now the typhoon is heading and making its fourth and final landfall near the Chinese/Vietnamese border at approximately 06:00 UTC (2:00 AM Eastern Time). This time, it is going to come as a powerful cyclone with winds between 140 and 145 mph.
Now as Typhoon Rammasum is headed for Vietnam and its borders, authorities are putting up emergency preparations near Halong Bay and surrounding regions, expecting the disaster to strike anywhere close to these areas.
Rammasum, meaning “God of Thunder” in Thai, certainly lived up to its name when it killed over 40 people cutting through its path in Northern Philippines earlier this week. The storm is expected to bring ferocious more winds, great waves and torrential rain to southern China.
According to Reuters, these typhoons are common at this time of year in the South China Sea, where they are picking up strength from the warm waters and dissolving over the land.
– Noor Siddiqui
Sources: CNN 1, CNN 2, Reuters, The Vane
Photo: Today Online