Chinese tourist city Sanya shuts down as Typhoon Kajiki intensifies

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A damaged wall is seen as Typhoon Wutip approaches in Sanya, on June 13. Since July, record rainfall has lashed Chinas north and south.

PHOTO: AFP

BEIJING - The southern Chinese city of Sanya, renowned for seafront resorts and sandy beaches, closed tourist attractions, shuttered businesses and suspended public transport on Aug 24 as it braced for an intensifying Typhoon Kajiki.

The tropical cyclone was about 200km south-east of Sanya on the island province of Hainan at 9am, packing maximum sustained wind of 38m a second near its centre, the National Meteorological Centre said.

Kajiki is likely to strengthen as it moves north-west at approximately 20kmh, with a peak wind speed as fast as 48m per second, the state weather forecaster said.

The storm could make landfall along the southern coast of Hainan from the afternoon of Aug 24 to evening, or skirt the southern coastline before heading toward Vietnam in the west.

The Meteorological Centre forecast heavy rainfall and strong wind in Hainan and the nearby Guangdong province and Guangxi region, with areas in Hainan set to receive as much as 400mm of precipitation.

Sanya issued a red typhoon alert on the morning of Aug 24 - the highest in Chinas colour-coded warning system - and raised its emergency response to the most severe level, showed posts on the local governments Wechat account.

City officials convened a meeting on the evening of Aug 23, urging preparation for worst case scenarios and stressing the need for heightened vigilance to ensure no fatalities and minimal injuries,