Typhoon Maysak makes landfall in Hainan, triggers closures

Maysak, the first typhoon to make landfall in China this year, approached the southern island province of Hainan on Friday, triggering widespread transport disruptions, school closures, and heightened warnings for flooding and geological disasters.

The storm was located about 155 kilometers southeast of Lingshui Li autonomous county early Friday, with maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour, according to the Hainan Meteorological Service. The agency upgraded its typhoon alert to Level III under its four-tier warning system.

Moving northwest at 10 to 15 kph, Maysak is expected to strengthen slightly before making landfall between Sanya and Lingshui on Friday afternoon, bringing winds of 83 to 100 kph, equivalent to a severe tropical storm. It is forecast to cross Hainan, enter the Beibu Gulf and make a second landfall near the Guangxi-Vietnam border on Saturday evening before gradually weakening.

The National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters activated a Level IV emergency response for Hainan, Guangxi, and Guangdong on Thursday and dispatched a working group to Hainan. The Ministry of Water Resources also launched a flood-control emergency response for the three provincial-level regions.

Forecasters said 150 to 250 millimeters of rain could fall through Saturday across 11 cities and counties in central and southern Hainan, including Qiongzhong, Wanning, Lingshui, and Sanya, with isolated areas receiving more than 350 mm. Other parts of the island, including the provincial capital Haikou, are expected to receive 100 to 150 mm.

Transport services across Hainan were suspended as the storm approached. All trains entering or leaving the island were canceled for Friday and Saturday, while the island's ring high-speed railway, the Sanya-Ledong tourist rail line, and Haikou's suburban rail services were suspended. Ferry services across the Qiongzhou Strait, including at Haikou's Xinhai Harbor and Xiuying Port, were halted at 2 am. Sanya Phoenix International Airport will suspend all flight arrivals and departures from 5 pm Friday, according to Hainan Airport Group.

Schools in Sanya, Lingshui, Wanning, and Qionghai were closed on Friday. Sanya also suspended all marine, river, and mountain tourism activities from Thursday night, with other scenic spots and tourist venues to close depending on weather conditions.

The Hainan Provincial Water Affairs Office and the provincial meteorological service jointly issued a red alert for flash floods on Friday morning, warning that parts of Sanya, Wuzhishan, Ledong, and Baoting face the highest flood risk through Saturday morning.

On the mainland, some services on the Guangzhou-Zhanjiang, Shenzhen-Zhanjiang, and Guangzhou-Maoming high-speed rail lines were suspended on Friday and Saturday. Cross-strait train services to Hainan were either canceled or shortened to terminate at Guangzhou Baiyun or Zhanjiang West stations.

Forecasters at the National Meteorological Center warned that although Maysak is relatively weak, its slow movement and moisture density could produce prolonged torrential rainfall. Combined with the seasonal monsoon, the storm is expected to enhance rainfall along the Yangtze River's plum rain front through Monday, increasing the risk of floods and landslides across large parts of southern China.