Typhoon Narra floods China; Saudel eyes Japan, Taiwan — SkimNews

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- Typhoon Narra made landfall in Hainan Tuesday evening as a tropical storm, triggering record flooding in Chongzuo (Guangxi) where water levels surpassed the 2008 high and forced evacuation of over 15,000 city residents.
- Across Guangxi, China has relocated 54,000 people in total, with state media forecasting torrential rain continuing through Wednesday across Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, and Fujian.
- Chongzuo authorities ordered all businesses and tourist operations to cease after floodwaters reached building rooftops and power lines, and barred evacuated residents from returning to high-risk areas.
- Typhoon Saudel is tracking toward southern Japan and northern Taiwan, with Japan's weather agency warning of destructive winds and high seas as it approaches Okinawa prefecture.
- A separate tropical depression brought nearly a metre of rain to Kaohsiung, Taiwan over Sunday-Tuesday, exceeding rainfall from 2009's devastating Typhoon Morakot; Taiwan reported one dead and four missing across Tainan and Kaohsiung (combined population over 4 million).
- Saudel is forecast to pass north of Taiwan late Thursday into Friday before hitting Fujian province, though Taiwan's Central Weather Administration flagged uncertainty about the storm's rainfall timing and extent.
Why it matters: The double typhoon threat strains disaster response across three East Asian economies — Guangxi's 54,000 evacuees and Kaohsiung's rainfall exceeding the 2009 Morakot benchmark signal compounding risk as Saudel arrives late Thursday. With over 4 million residents in Tainan and Kaohsiung already impacted and another storm tracking toward Okinawa and Fujian within days, emergency resources are simultaneously stretched across China, Japan, and Taiwan.
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