Typhoon Yagi to hit most of Thailand with heavy rain this week

 

BANGKOK: The Office of National Water Resources (ONWR) issued a warning on Thursday (Sept 5), saying Typhoon Yagi will bring heavy rain to the North, Northeast, East and South (Andaman coast) of Thailand this week.

Surasee Kittimonthon, the ONWR secretary-general, said the typhoon is forecast to pass through Hainan in China and make landfall over upper Vietnam on Friday and Saturday.

Increased rainfall is expected to hit the North, upper Northeast, East and the Andaman coast in the South of Thailand over the next seven days. Heavy flooding can be expected in flood-prone areas in the North, as well as Trat in the Southeast and Chanthaburi in the East, he added.

Renowned marine ecologist Thon Thamrongnawasawat said in a Facebook post that Yagi had intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon within days due to rising sea temperatures. He also emphasised the role global warming is playing in the typhoon’s maximum sustained winds and its slow movement towards Hainan.

He said he expects China to maximise its disaster response to cope with the typhoon, adding that the storms that previously hit Hainan and Hong Kong were far smaller and had lower maximum sustained winds.

“Global warming is not just increasing the number of storms, but also strengthening their maximum sustained winds,” he said, adding that rising sea temperatures were also contributing to increased rainfall, triggering flash floods and landslides.

The Thai Meteorological Department, meanwhile, has forecast that Typhoon Yagi will bring heavy rains to the North and upper Northeast from Sunday to next Tuesday.

However, Thon warned that people should be prepared because changes to the forecast may occur due to global warming.

“Do not underestimate storms during global warming,” he cautioned. - The Nation/ANN