Typhoon Ragasa weakens after second landfall in Guangxi

Typhoon Ragasa, the 18th typhoon of the year, made a second landfall along the coast of Beihai in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Thursday, weakening to a tropical storm after hitting Yangjiang, Guangdong province, at typhoon strength a day earlier.

The storm landed near Hailing Island in Yangjiang on Wednesday before reaching Beihai's coast around 6:30 am.

By 9 am, the Beihai authority announced the gradual lifting of typhoon-related emergency measures, including suspensions of classes, work, tourism, market operations, and transportation. Local production and daily life are resuming in an orderly manner.

Ragasa is forecast to move west-northwest at 15 to 20 km per hour toward northern Vietnam's coast, where it is expected to make a third landfall Thursday afternoon to evening. It will then shift southwestward and continue weakening.

Meteorological forecasts warn that from 8 am Thursday to 8 am Friday, strong winds of levels 6 to 7 with gusts up to levels 8 to 9 will affect the northern South China Sea, Beibu Gulf, Guangdong's coastal and southwestern areas, and Guangxi's coast. Winds could reach level 8 with gusts of levels 9 to 10 near the storm's center.

Heavy rainfall is also anticipated: from 8 am Friday to 8 am Saturday, moderate to heavy rains are expected in parts of central and southern Guangxi, southeastern Yunnan, southern Guizhou, western and northern Guangdong, and eastern Hainan Island. Severe downpours (100-200 mm) are likely in southwestern Guangxi and southeastern Yunnan.