Typhoon Talim Forms, Could Hit Southern China and Taiwan

Hundreds of thousands of people might be evacuated from southern China before a gigantic typhoon (like a hurricane) is expected to make landfall later in the week, according to reports.

Typhoon Talim is slated to make landfall in Fujian Province, China, putting cities like Fuzhou and Ningde at risk, according to local officials, as reported by the South China Morning Post. Evacuation notices might be issued for as many as 500,000 people.

Talim formed in the Philippines over the weekend, and it’s now slated to hit southern Japan, Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, and Fujian, the Weather Channel reported Monday, Sept. 11.

Talim is moving in a west-northwestern direction over the next few days, and by the time it reaches China, it could be a Category 3-strength storm, according to the channel. The Hong Kong Observatory said that it’s expected to move across the western portion of the northern Pacific in the general direction of Taiwan and Luzon Strait, the Hong Kong Standard reported. Hong Kong could be affected, as Talim is forecast to come within 500 miles of the city on Thursday.

Officials in Taiwan, which is hit by typhoons on a yearly basis, said people are taking the warnings seriously.

“For Taiwan, the most serious chance of a disaster is heavy rain causing a sudden mudslide. Before Morakot, people were taking chances, sort of like gambling,” Li Wei-sen, Taiwan’s secretary-general with the government’s National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction, told The Associated Press.

The Central Weather Bureau told Focus Taiwan on Monday that Talim could potentially impact the country on Thursday.

Currently, the storm is located some 1,100 miles east-southeast of southern Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm on Monday and it is currently located near Jacksonville, Florida, according to U.S. weather officials. Some 6 million homes and businesses were left without power, Florida Power & Light said.