China braces itself for twin tropical cyclones after deadly flash floods

BEIJING - Two tropical cyclones will bring gales and heavy rain to China’s eastern seaboard next week, with the first expected to make landfall on July 21, after deadly flash floods struck the country’s interior at the weekend.

Prapiroon, named after a Thai rain god, is expected to make landfall in China’s southernmost island province of Hainan on the night of July 21 as a strong tropical storm, the first tropical cyclone to hit China in 2024, national forecasters said.

Formed in the South China Sea, Prapiroon’s centre was about 275km south-east of the Hainan city of Wanning as at 7am local time (7am Singapore time).

The maximum wind speed near its centre will be up to 30m per second when Prapiroon lands, said the National Meteorological Centre, predicting torrential rains in Hainan and along the coast of Guangdong, China’s most populous province.

Later next week, Gaemi, which was about 530km north-east of Philippine capital Manila on the morning of July 21, is expected to brush past the northern tip of Taiwan, then make landfall in China as a typhoon, packing wind speeds of up to 50m per second (180kmh), according to Chinese forecasters.

Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration said it expected Gaemi to be closest to the island on July 23 and 24, bringing heavy rain.

Extreme rainfall has hit China’s southern, central and eastern parts in a flood season that started earlier than usual in 2024. Record rainfall pounded southern China in April to June, while in the north, dry weather parched fields and threatened crops.

In the north-western province of Shaanxi, a highway bridge collapsed on July 19 amid torrential rain, killing at least 12, with 31 people and 18 vehicles still missing.

In Sichuan province in the south-west, rescuers had retrieved eight bodies and pulled four people to safety by 8pm local time on July 20, after more than 30 went missing amid flash floods. REUTERS