South China's island province of Hainan upgraded its emergency response to the highest level on Sunday morning as Typhoon Kajiki, the 13th typhoon of the year, is expected to make landfall on Sunday afternoon or evening or pass through the waters just south of the island.
China's National Meteorological Center has maintained an orange alert for the typhoon on Sunday, the second-highest of its four-tier typhoon warning system.
The storm strengthened into a full typhoon early on Sunday morning, and a severe typhoon by 2 p.m., with a level 14 wind scale and wind speed at 42 meters per second. By 1 p.m., the typhoon eye was about 135 kilometers southeast of Hainan's Sanya City and moving northwest at roughly 20 kilometers per hour.
The Hainan provincial government raised its typhoon warning to the highest level at 9:40 a.m. on Sunday, and the local emergency response authorities also upgraded the emergency response for flood and wind to Level I. Heavy rain and strong winds are expected across the island from Sunday to Monday.
Multiple localities in Hainan Province have been actively taking steps to safeguard against the typhoon. On Saturday, Hainan's maritime authorities evacuated 368 workers from eight offshore drilling platforms near Dongfang City. On Sunday morning, fishermen in Haikou's Sanlian Community secured their boats and hauled nets ashore to guard against storm damage.
The transportation sector in Hainan has also actively made preparations to deal with the typhoon. Ferry services at Haikou's Xinhai, Xiuying, and South Railway ports were suspended from 5 p.m. Saturday and are expected to remain closed until Monday morning. All inbound and outbound trains to and from Hainan Island, as well as several inner-island trains, have been halted. At Sanya Phoenix International Airport, flights were suspended from 10 a.m. Sunday, with further cancellations expected.
South China island province activates highest alert as Typhoon Kajiki approaches
