Typhoon Noul, year's strongest for China, lashes Guangdong and Hong Kong; over 340,000 evacuated
Typhoon Noul made landfall in Guangdong province early Sunday, packing winds near 162 km/h at its eye, state broadcaster CCTV reported. It is the most powerful typhoon to hit China this year.
Landfall and immediate impact
Typhoon Noul, the strongest storm to strike China in 2026, crossed the coast of southern Guangdong province in the early hours of Sunday, 26 July. Winds near the eye reached almost 162 km/h at landfall, according to state television CCTV. More than 340,000 people had been evacuated in Guangdong province by the time the storm arrived. Authorities in the province raised the disaster rescue alert to its third-highest level on Sunday morning.
Images broadcast by CCTV showed extremely violent winds, torrential rain, and roads littered with debris. Small structures, including a basketball backboard, were toppled by the gusts. All railway traffic across the province was suspended on Sunday, CCTV reported.
Hong Kong braces and reports damage
Across the border, Hong Kong raised its second-highest cyclone alert, the T9 signal, overnight before lowering it to T8 by morning. At least 350 flights from and to Hong Kong were cancelled on Sunday, according to the airport's website.
Noul is moving deeper inland over Guangdong and gradually weakening, but strong winds are still affecting many areas in Hong Kong, with storm-force winds observed occasionally over high ground.
The Hong Kong government said it had received over 100 reports of fallen trees and that nine people had been injured. The body of the summary continues below.
Transport and travel chaos
The airport cancellations compounded a broader transport shutdown. With all rail services suspended in Guangdong, the region's logistics network was paralysed. The flight cancellations at Hong Kong International Airport stranded passengers as the storm churned across the Pearl River Delta. Ferry and bus services were also disrupted, though exact figures for those were not immediately available in state media.
- Hong Kong issues T9 cyclone alert, its second-highest level
- Typhoon Noul makes landfall in Guangdong with winds near 162 km/h
- Hong Kong lowers alert to T8; Guangdong raises disaster rescue alert to third-highest level
- All rail traffic suspended in Guangdong; at least 350 flights cancelled in Hong Kong
- Storm forecast to bring heavy rain to Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, possibly Henan and Shandong
Forecast and further risk
CCTV's weather bulletin forecast that Noul would track inland, carrying violent winds and rain into Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei provinces. Precipitation from the typhoon could extend until Tuesday, reaching as far north as Henan and Shandong.
After making landfall, Noul will head inland, bringing violent winds and rain to Jiangxi, Hunan and Hubei provinces.
The storm's remnants are expected to weaken progressively over land, but the prolonged rainfall raises the risk of flooding and landslides across a broad swath of central and eastern China in the days ahead.
