Haikou, Sep 7: Super Typhoon Yagi pounded South China's island province of Hainan with heavy rain and gusty winds, leaving at least two people dead and 92 injured, local authorities said Saturday. Two fatalities were confirmed in Ding'an County, while Wenchang City reported 12 injuries and Haikou City reported 80 injuries as of Saturday morning, according to official data, Xinhua news agency reported.
As winds and rainfall subsided, Hainan downgraded its typhoon alert and initiated swift recovery operations across the province. Over 2,200 workers have been mobilised to restore power to more than 1.5 million affected households, by 7 A.M. and over one-fifth of those affected households had been reconnected to the grid on Saturday. Road repairs are also underway, with 51 of the 89 blocked main roads now cleared.
High-speed rail services circling the island are expected to resume on Saturday afternoon. Ferry services in the Qiongzhou Strait are anticipated to resume by Sunday evening. Haikou Meilan International Airport will remain temporarily closed until Sunday noon due to the remnants of Typhoon Yagi, while Sanya Phoenix International Airport in the popular tourist city of Sanya began gradually resuming flight services at 10 A.M. on Saturday.
Meanwhile, rescue teams are racing to restore communications, as more than 12,500 base stations were damaged across the province, with Wenchang City suffering the worst damage to its communications facilities. Super Typhoon Yagi, the 11th typhoon of this year, made two landfalls in China on Friday, first striking Hainan and later Guangdong Province.
