The year’s first super typhoon erupted over the steamy waters of the western Pacific Ocean on Thursday as Yagi churned toward an eventual landfall in southern China.
Having formed as a tropical cyclone in the Philippine Sea on Sunday, the powerful storm peaked on Thursday afternoon local time with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, which would be the equivalent of a high-end Category 4 hurricane. At least 13 people have been killed in the Philippines as a result of flooding and landslides.
Forecasters expect the storm to weaken somewhat before striking the Chinese island of Hainan by the end of the week, raking the popular tourist destination with dangerous winds