 Yagi at its peak intensity over the South China Sea on September 5 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | August 31, 2024 |
| Dissipated | September 8, 2024 |
| Violent typhoon | |
| 10-minute sustained (JMA) | |
| Highest winds | 195 km/h (120 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 915 hPa (mbar); 27.02 inHg |
| Category 5-equivalent super typhoon | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 260 km/h (160 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 916 hPa (mbar); 27.05 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 844 |
| Injuries | 2,279 |
| Missing | 129 |
| Damage | >$16.6 billion (2024 USD) (Third-costliest Pacific typhoon on record in nominal terms, second-costliest in Chinese history) |
| Areas affected | |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 2024 Pacific typhoon season | |
Typhoon Yagi, known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Enteng, was a deadly and extremely destructive tropical cyclone which impacted Southeast Asia and South China in early September 2024. Yagi, which means goat or the constellation of Capricornus in Japanese, was the eleventh named storm, the first violent typhoon of the season, and the first Category 5 storm of the annual typhoon season. It was one of the most intense typhoons ever to strike Northern Vietnam, the strongest typhoon to strike Hainan during the meteorological autumn, and the strongest since Rammasun in 2014. It is one of the four Category 5 super typhoons recorded in the South China Sea, alongside Pamela in 1954, Rammasun in 2014 and Rai in 2021.
Yagi originated from a low-pressure area that formed on August 30, approximately 540 km (330 mi) northwest of Palau. On September 1, the system was classified as a tropical storm and named Yagi by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). After making landfall over Casiguran, Aurora, in the Philippines, on September 2, Yagi weakened as it moved inland through the rugged terrain of the Cordillera Central of Luzon. It later emerged over the South China Sea and began merging with a secondary circulation west of Lingayen Gulf, with its deep convection starting to wrap and develop convective bands extending west and south. On September 5, the JMA reported that the storm reached its peak intensity with ten-minute sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph) and a central pressure of 915 hPa (27.02 inHg). It subsequently peaked as a Category 5-equivalent super typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with one-minute sustained winds of 260 km/h (160 mph). After weakening during an eyewall replacement cycle, Yagi slightly restrengthened before making landfall near Wenchang in China's Hainan Province on September 6. Yagi passed over northern Hainan and directly over Haikou, before briefly making landfall over Xuwen County in mainland Guangdong Province and moving into the open waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. It made landfall over Haiphong and Quảng Ninh, Vietnam, on September 7 and moved southwestwards inland until it was last noted on September 8; however, its remnants later contributed to the formation of a deep depression over Bangladesh and India six days later.
The combination of Typhoon Yagi and the southwest monsoon led to heavy rains over Luzon, causing widespread flash floods in various areas. The Hong Kong Observatory issued a Gale or Storm No. 8 warning as Typhoon Yagi approached. The Chinese island of Hainan experienced extreme rainfall and over 57,000 buildings were damaged there. In preparation for Typhoon Yagi, schools and transport services in areas within the storm's trajectory were closed. In the Philippines, 21 people were killed while 26 others were reported missing. In Vietnam, over 329,000 structures were affected and 325 people died, with 24 more missing; a majority of the casualties were caused by landslides. The remnants of Yagi caused catastrophic flooding and landslides in Myanmar, where 433 deaths and 79 missing were confirmed. These remnants also caused extensive flooding and deaths in Laos and Thailand. In total, the typhoon caused at least 844 deaths, 2,279 injuries, and left 129 people missing. Yagi also damaged, flooded or destroyed over 741,800 structures, resulting in US$16.6 billion in damage across eight countries and territories.