BEIJING — The southern Chinese city of Sanya, known for seafront resorts and sandy beaches, closed tourist attractions, shuttered businesses and suspended public transport on Sunday as it braced for an intensifying Typhoon Kajiki.

The tropical cyclone was about 200 kilometers southeast of Sanya on the island province of Hainan at 9 a.m. packing maximum sustained wind of 38 meters a second near its center, the National Meteorological Center said.

Kajiki is likely to strengthen as it moves northwest at approximately 20 km/h, with a peak wind speed as fast as 48 m/s, the state weather forecaster said.

Chinese tourist city Sanya shuts down as typhoon intensifies

The storm could make landfall along the southern coast of Hainan from Sunday afternoon to evening, or skirt the southern coastline before heading toward Vietnam in the west.

The Meteorological Center forecast heavy rainfall and strong wind in Hainan and nearby Guangdong province and Guangxi region, with areas in Hainan set to receive as much as 400 mm of precipitation., This news data comes from:http://www.771bg.com

Sanya issued a red typhoon alert on Sunday morning — the highest in China’s color-coded warning system — and raised its emergency response to the most severe level, showed posts on the local government’s Wechat account.

City officials convened a meeting on Saturday evening, urging preparation for “worst case scenarios” and stressing the need for heightened vigilance to ensure no fatalities and minimal injuries, the government said.

All classes and construction are suspended, and shopping centers, restaurants and supermarkets are closed from Sunday. Vessels have been ordered to cease operating in Sanya’s waters.

Officials said the lifting of restrictions would depend on the storm’s impact.

Chinese tourist city Sanya shuts down as typhoon intensifies

Sanya is one of China’s most popular holiday destinations, attracting 34 million tourist visits in 2024, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Since July, record rainfall has lashed China’s north and south in what meteorologists described as extreme weather events linked to climate change, testing local government readiness and posing significant risk to lives and the economy.