Typhoon Noul weakens inland after landfall in Guangdong, with evacuations and flight cancellations

Typhoon Noul has weakened as it moved inland after making landfall on the coast of Huidong county in Huizhou, Guangdong, early on Sunday. The storm brought strong winds and heavy rain to southern China and Hong Kong, with authorities warning that rainfall and flooding risks could continue as it tracked north-westward. It was described by official media as the strongest typhoon to make landfall in China so far this year.

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China's national weather centre said the typhoon reached land at about 3:50am local time, with Hong Kong's weather observatory reporting maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometres per hour near its centre. More than 715,000 people had been relocated for safety in Guangdong by early Sunday, according to state radio, after authorities said about 340,000 had been evacuated the previous day. The national meteorological centre also expected heavy rain and strong winds to affect parts of southern Guangdong and southeastern Fujian over the weekend.

The impact was also felt in Hong Kong, where airport authorities said about 350 flights were cancelled on Sunday. Hong Kong authorities said at least nine people were injured during the typhoon period, while police reported that part of a large scaffolding structure on a high-rise building collapsed on Saturday afternoon, with no injuries initially reported. In Guangdong, state broadcaster CCTV said many trees were uprooted in Huilai county, underlining the storm's effect on coastal areas.

The storm's arrival matters because Guangdong is one of China's most economically important coastal provinces, and severe weather there can quickly disrupt transport, logistics and emergency services. Hong Kong is also a major regional aviation hub, so flight cancellations can have wider knock-on effects beyond the city itself. The combination of mass relocation on the mainland and transport disruption in Hong Kong shows how a single typhoon can affect a densely populated and economically connected area.

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Noul came after a run of typhoons affecting China this month, including Bavi on 11 July and Maysak on 3 July, according to the supplied report. Hong Kong's weather observatory said the storm was moving into inland Guangdong and weakening progressively, but still bringing strong winds and heavy rain. Taiwan's Central Weather Administration also said the system was bringing rainfall to parts of southern and eastern Taiwan as it passed south of the island.

What remains unclear is the full scale of damage on land and whether further evacuations or transport restrictions will be needed as the system continues inland. Officials are still monitoring rainfall, flood risk and the storm's path across southern and central China. The main developments to watch are any further changes to warning levels, the pace of flight recovery in Hong Kong and whether heavy rain triggers wider flooding in affected provinces.

Typhoon Noul made landfall in southern China early Sunday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to Guangdong province and disrupting transport in nearby Hong Kong. The storm prompted large-scale evacuations on the mainland and a sharp escalation in weather warnings across the region. Authorities also activated emergency flood responses in several provinces as the system moved inland.

China's National Meteorological Centre issued a red alert, the highest level in the country's four-tier typhoon warning system, as the storm approached the coast. Late on Saturday, the centre of the typhoon was about 100 km southeast of Huidong County in Huizhou City, Guangdong, with maximum sustained winds of Force 14. The weather agency said Noul was moving northwest at about 20 kmph and was expected to strengthen before landfall, before later shifting north-northwest and gradually weakening after moving inland.

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Authorities said more than 340,000 people were evacuated from Guangdong ahead of landfall. China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters raised Guangdong's emergency response for floods and typhoons to Level III, while activating a Level IV flood emergency response in Jiangxi and Hunan provinces. The storm was expected to affect large parts of eastern, central and southern China, including Fujian, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi.

In Hong Kong, more than 410 flights and 150 high-speed train services were cancelled, and the Home Affairs Department opened 28 temporary shelters for residents. The disruption highlights the scale of the impact typhoons can have on one of Asia's busiest transport and industrial corridors. Guangdong is a major economic hub, and severe weather there can quickly affect supply chains, travel and local emergency services.

Hong Kong's decision to raise its warning to Typhoon Signal No. 9 also underlines the seriousness of the storm as it passed within 80 km of the city. The warning level signalled a very serious threat and came as rainfall exceeding 30 mm per hour was already being recorded. Typhoon Noul is the 12th typhoon to form in the Pacific this year and the third to strike China this month, according to the supplied report.

That places it within a broader pattern of repeated storm impacts during the current season. The storm's name means "the glow of sunrise or sunset" in Korean, and officials said it was weakening as it moved inland while still posing a risk of intense rainfall and flash floods. Airport authorities in Hong Kong said flight operations were expected to gradually resume after 6 pm on Sunday.

What remains unclear is the full extent of damage on land and whether additional evacuations or transport restrictions will be needed as the system continues inland. Officials are still monitoring rainfall, flood risk and the storm's path across multiple provinces. The key developments to watch are any further changes to warning levels, the pace of transport recovery in Hong Kong, and whether the heavy rain triggers wider flooding in southern and central China.

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