Typhoon Saudel battered Japan’s Okinawa and Amami islands with destructive winds, widespread power outages and major flight disruptions before moving into the East China Sea, according to reporting by Reuters and The Associated Press. The powerful storm is now bearing down on eastern China, where authorities are warning of torrential rainfall, damaging winds and potentially severe flooding.
China’s National Meteorological Center (NMC) continued an orange typhoon warning on Aug. 26 as Saudel approached the Zhejiang-Fujian coastline. The storm is expected to remain at typhoon or strong-typhoon intensity when it reaches the coast between the night of Aug. 27 and the morning of Aug. 28.
Saudel batters Okinawa and Amami islands
Saudel swept across Japan’s southwestern islands early Wednesday, bringing powerful winds, heavy rain and widespread disruption before moving west over the East China Sea.
According to The Associated Press, the typhoon was packing winds of up to 144 kilometers per hour (89 mph) as it moved away from Japan. More than 23 centimeters (9 inches) of rain fell across parts of the Amami region in 24 hours, prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue a landslide warning.
More than 30,000 homes in Kagoshima Prefecture, which includes the Amami islands, lost electricity, according to Kyushu Electric Power. AP reported that roughly 150 flights to and from Okinawa’s Naha Airport were canceled. At least two people were injured: a 78-year-old woman suffered a head injury after being knocked down by strong winds in Uruma, Okinawa, while a woman in her 70s fell on stairs during a blackout on Amami Oshima.
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Reuters separately reported that nearly 35,000 homes had lost power as the storm affected Okinawa and Amami. Citing Japanese public broadcaster NHK, Reuters said 92 flights serving airports across Okinawa Prefecture were canceled Wednesday and All Nippon Airways suspended flights to and from Naha Airport. The differing flight totals reflect different reporting periods and airport scopes as airlines adjusted operations throughout the day.
As conditions improved in Japan, the center of the storm continued westward toward China, shifting the primary threat to the densely populated Zhejiang and Fujian coastline.
Strong typhoon approaches the Zhejiang-Fujian coast
In its 6 p.m. Aug. 26 bulletin, China’s National Meteorological Center said Saudel remained a strong typhoon, with maximum sustained winds near its center of 42 meters per second—about 151 kilometers per hour (94 mph)—and a minimum central pressure of 955 hectopascals. At 5 p.m., its center was about 600 kilometers east-northeast of the Zhejiang-Fujian provincial border.
Forecasters expect Saudel to move generally west before turning west-southwest on Aug. 27. The latest NMC forecast places possible landfall between Xiangshan County in Zhejiang and Lianjiang County in Fujian from the night of Aug. 27 through the morning of Aug. 28. The storm could still carry winds of 35 to 42 meters per second—126 to 151 kilometers per hour—when it reaches land, keeping it at typhoon or strong-typhoon strength.
The NMC warned that the central and southern East China Sea could experience winds of force 9 to 12, with gusts reaching force 13 to 14. Areas close to Saudel’s center could see force 13 to 14 winds with gusts of force 15 to 16. Strong winds are also expected along the Zhejiang and northern Fujian coasts, around the Yangtze River estuary and Hangzhou Bay.
The threat is heightened by the timing of the storm. Zhejiang Climate Center senior engineer Mao Yanjun told Xinhua that Saudel is strong, fast-moving and arriving during an astronomical high-tide period, creating what he called an unfavorable convergence of “wind, rain and tide.”
The combination raises the risk of coastal flooding and storm-driven waves in addition to damage from wind and rainfall.
Torrential rain raises flood and landslide fears
Although Saudel’s winds present an immediate danger along the coast, Chinese forecasters are particularly concerned about the amount of moisture the storm could carry inland.
According to the Zhejiang provincial forecast reported by Xinhua, the cities of Taizhou and Wenzhou, eastern Lishui and central-to-southern Ningbo could receive cumulative rainfall of 100 to 200 millimeters, with some areas receiving 200 to 300 millimeters and isolated locations receiving more than 500 millimeters, or nearly 20 inches.
China’s National Meteorological Center has warned that the storm’s effects could extend well beyond its landfall point. An earlier major-weather advisory forecast heavy to torrential rain from Aug. 27 through Aug. 30 across parts of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan. Authorities identified elevated risks from flash floods, landslides and other geological disasters, flooding of smaller and medium-sized rivers and urban waterlogging.
Saudel is also arriving after a succession of tropical systems has already saturated parts of southern China. Reuters reported Wednesday that rivers in Guangxi had exceeded warning levels and low-lying areas were flooded after heavy rainfall associated with Typhoon Narra. Tens of thousands of people had already been evacuated in southern China before Saudel’s arrival, while forecast models indicated Saudel’s outer rain bands could extend westward toward Guangxi.
China’s emergency authorities highlighted that cumulative risk on Wednesday. Following a multi-agency meeting, the National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and Ministry of Emergency Management described Saudel as having “strong landfall intensity, abundant moisture, a wide impact area and high destructive potential.” Officials warned that the storm could travel deep inland after landfall and that some regions faced overlapping disaster risks from previous rainfall.
The Ministry of Emergency Management also warned against the storm’s potential “trailing effect,” in which dangerous rainfall can persist after the typhoon’s center has weakened or moved away. Authorities ordered intensified monitoring of rivers, reservoirs, mountain valleys, drainage systems and areas vulnerable to geological disasters.
China raises emergency response as evacuations begin
Chinese authorities have escalated preparations as Saudel closes in on the coast.
At 11 a.m. Wednesday, the National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters raised its flood and typhoon emergency response for Zhejiang and Fujian from Level IV to Level III, while maintaining a Level IV response for Guangdong. Officials ordered local governments to move residents out of dangerous areas early, return vessels to port and bring crews ashore, while preparing rescue teams and emergency supplies in advance.
Zhejiang went further, raising its provincial typhoon emergency response to Level II at noon on Aug. 26. According to Xinhua, all of the province’s marine fishing vessels had either entered port or reached safer waters by Wednesday morning, all 551 recreational fishing vessels had suspended operations and offshore aquaculture workers had been brought ashore.
Fujian raised its typhoon emergency response to Level III Wednesday morning. By late Wednesday, provincial authorities maintained that response as forecasters warned of strengthening winds over offshore fishing grounds and northern coastal waters. Officials urged vessels still operating in affected areas to return to port or leave the storm’s path.
The effects are expected to reach farther north as well. Shanghai’s meteorological authority issued a blue typhoon warning at 7 p.m. Aug. 26, forecasting gusty winds across much of the city on Aug. 27 and 28, with stronger winds around high-rise buildings and areas along the coast and Yangtze River.
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