Chinese authorities have issued alerts due to torrential rains caused by Typhoon Narra. It is forecast that the passage of this typhoon will bring heavy precipitation and strong winds to several provinces located in the south and southeast of the territory in the coming days.
China's National Meteorological Center announced that the tropical depression that spawned the typhoon intensified on Friday afternoon, transforming into a typhoon. Forecasts indicate that it will remain almost stationary over the Beibu Gulf until Sunday, progressively intensifying and potentially reaching a strong tropical storm category.
Starting Monday, the system is expected to move slowly northeast and north, at an estimated speed of between 5 and 10 kilometers per hour, weakening as it approaches coastal areas. These areas extend from the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong province to the coast of the southern autonomous region of Guangxi.
The presence of Narra, known locally as Zitan, over the waters of the Beibu Gulf will result in heavy and continuous rainfall in the southern and southeastern provinces of the country, including Hainan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Fujian. In some localities, accumulations may reach 'extreme levels', accompanied by vigorous winds.
Guangdong province issued its own warning on Friday, a blue alert, considered the mildest within the Chinese system, aimed at preventing floods and typhoons. Water resource departments were ordered to consider the rainfall as of 'great importance' and implement a strict 24-hour monitoring system to track the cyclone's evolution.
In Guangxi, the rains have already caused increases of up to 9.91 meters in the Mingjiang, Sizhou, and Pailian rivers, in addition to recording accumulated precipitation of up to 310 millimeters in the last 24 hours.
Meteorology experts advised affected regions to reinforce precautions against potential secondary disasters, protect themselves from strong wind risks, and improve the management of vessel safety, coastal tourism, aquaculture, and maritime operations.
In parallel, Typhoon Saudel is also intensifying. At 05:00 local time on Saturday (equivalent to 21:00 GMT on Friday), this system was in the Northwest Pacific, about 555 kilometers northeast of Guam Island in Micronesia, with sustained winds of approximately 126 kilometers per hour.
Typhoon Saudel is moving northwest and is rapidly intensifying, with the potential to become a super typhoon. Although its path has not yet been defined, it may reach the east coast of China between August 28 and 29.
China has been facing a summer characterized by torrential rains, floods, and landslides in several provinces, resulting in dozens of deaths and the preventive evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people. One of the most severe weather events was Typhoon Maysak, which occurred last July, whose victims were updated by authorities this Friday, totaling at least 159 deaths and 10 missing.