Typhoon Wutip threatens southern China with heavy rainfall and wind

China is preparing for the arrival of Typhoon Wutip, anticipated to make landfall on June 14, 2025, hitting the provinces of Hainan and Guangdong with severe weather. Currently classified as a tropical storm, Wutip is expected to strengthen, reaching wind speeds between 25 to 30 meters per second as it nears the coast of Hainan. As of June 12, the storm was positioned approximately 205 kilometers southeast of Sanya and was moving northwest at 10 kilometers per hour. Notably, Wutip is the first typhoon of the year to make landfall in the country, although its formation arrived two months later than the average date of March 25, based on historical data from 1991 to 2020. This delay is significant within the context of typhoon activity in the West Pacific region, which typically sees 26 named storms per year, suggesting an unusual pattern this season. The storm is projected to hit between the areas of Lingshui and Ledong early on June 14 before advancing further inland across western Guangdong and Guangxi. Meteorological services have issued alerts as strong winds and heavy rainfall create potential hazards, including flash floods and mudslides, particularly in smaller rivers. The predicted rainfall amounts for Hainan range from 100 to 150 millimeters, with localised upland areas possibly receiving as much as 300 millimeters. Authorities have rolled out an emergency response plan, deploying working groups to assist with disaster preparedness in vulnerable regions. The National Meteorological Centre of China indicated that rainfall and wind conditions will continue intensifying across southern China in the following days. Rail services, including the Hainan Ring High-Speed Rail, have been suspended in anticipation of the storm, disrupting transportation and travel plans. The disrupted rail services underscore the broader impact of Wutip on daily life in the affected areas, as local infrastructures brace for the storm's anticipated arrival. Although Wutip is marked as the fifth-latest named storm to emerge in the West Pacific typhoon season, present assessments of weather patterns provide no clear insights into whether this trend indicates broader climate variations. The forecasts by meteorological authorities suggest that once Wutip moves inland, it will interact with a cold front, generating intensified rainfall across provinces such as Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, and southern Jiangsu. These interactions further complicate the already precarious situation in southern China as residents and officials prepare to mitigate the risk of secondary disasters following the storm’s landfall.