On Sept. 1, Typhoon Saudel regained strength over the South China Sea after weakening over eastern China, in an unusual resurgence that shocked a veteran meteorologist who said he had “never seen” such a bizarre storm trajectory in his 50 years of working in meteorology.
According to Chinese state media and the National Meteorological Center (NMC), the remnants of this year’s 18th typhoon developed into a tropical depression before strengthening once again into a typhoon over the northwestern South China Sea Monday. The storm was forecast to move east-northeast at approximately 25 kilometers (about 15.5 miles) per hour, with little change in intensity.
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China’s NMC issued a blue typhoon warning at 6 a.m. on Sept. 1, forecasting heavy rainfall across large areas of eastern and southern China as Saudel interacted with a monsoon trough and incoming cold air.
Storm makes an unusual comeback
Saudel had previously made landfall in Zhejiang Province and weakened while moving inland. Its circulation, however, survived the journey across land before emerging near the western Guangdong coast and reorganizing over warm waters.
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Former Hong Kong Observatory director Lam Chiu-ying said in an Aug. 31 social-media post that although Saudel weakened after moving from the East China Sea into Zhejiang, it retained a recognizable circulation as it tracked southwest and eventually strengthened again into a tropical depression.
The storm’s unusual evolution prompted Lam, who has worked in meteorology for 50 years, to ask: “What exactly is heaven trying to tell us?” He added, “Human beings often boast about ‘high technology,’ but how can it compare with the profound unpredictability of the weather?”
Lam said he had never encountered a typhoon behaving this way during his five decades in meteorology and warned that Saudel could linger near Hong Kong in the following days. Meteorologist Wu Derong similarly noted that the storm’s remnant circulation had become more active under the influence of a monsoon trough, creating conditions favorable for tropical systems over the South China Sea and warmer waters east of Taiwan.
Torrential rains threaten multiple provinces
The NMC forecast that Saudel, the monsoon trough, and cold air would bring heavy to torrential rainfall between Sept. 1 and 3 across parts of the Jiangnan region and eastern and southern China.
From 8 a.m. Sept. 1 through 8 a.m. Sept. 2, heavy rain or rainstorms were forecast across parts of Fujian, southern Zhejiang, eastern Guangdong, southern Jiangxi, western and southern Taiwan, southern Hainan, western Yunnan, northeastern Jilin, Heilongjiang, and southeastern Tibet. Parts of southern Zhejiang and northeastern Fujian were expected to experience extremely heavy rainfall, with isolated areas of northeastern Fujian receiving 250 to 280 millimeters (9.8 to 11 inches).
Some areas could see hourly rainfall of 20 to 50 millimeters, exceeding 70 millimeters locally, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds, authorities warn.
Flooding reported across China
Saudel had already contributed to severe rainfall and flooding across Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan, according to Chinese media reports and accounts circulating online. Xuancheng in Anhui Province experienced exceptionally heavy rainfall on Aug. 30, causing water levels in the Shuiyang and Qingyi rivers, both tributaries of the Yangtze, to rise sharply. Floodwaters reportedly inundated streets, businesses, vehicles, and underground parking facilities.
Heavy rainfall also caused flooding in several towns around Shantou, Guangdong Province, while streets in Fuqing, Fujian Province, were submerged following intense rainfall on Aug. 29 and 30. Despite some weakening by Aug. 30, residents in affected areas said that discharges from upstream reservoirs or hydropower facilities worsened downstream flooding as Saudel retained its “vortex”-like intensity.
In Yanjin County, Yunnan Province, a narrow settlement built along a river valley between steep mountains, residents similarly claimed that releases from upstream hydropower facilities caused property damage and that people had been swept away by floodwaters.
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