Tropical storm Jebi threatens tourism in Vietnam and China

Tropical storm Jebi has formed in the South China Sea and is threatening to make landfall across southern China and North Vietnam, bringing with it damaging winds and rain.

Tropical storm Jebi has formed in the South China Sea and is threatening to make landfall across southern China and North Vietnam, bringing with it damaging winds and rain.

In Vietnam, Jebi is predicted to cross the area from Quang Binh to Thai Binh at noon or early afternoon on Saturday August 3 – according to the latest forecast information. Strong winds and heavy rain is expected to last for approximately 1.5 to 2 days when the storm will be at its most severe. Authorities expect it to continue until late on August 4.

Because of the storm all boats including day boats and overnight boats in Halong Bay have been forced to remain at the pier starting from the morning of Aug 2nd until further notice from the local government.

Local tour companies like Destination Asia Vietnam is closely monitoring the situation as it unfolds and alternative arrangements are being made for their clients in-country who may be affected by this storm.

Shipping services on the Qiongzhou Strait, a waterway that connects south China’s island province of Hainan and Guangdong Province on the mainland, have been suspended due to the arrival of strong tropical storm Jebi.

Local authorities ordered boats in the strait to return to harbor at 8 p.m. Thursday before the tropical storm strengthened to a strong tropical storm three hours later, according to the marine affairs bureau of Haikou, capital of Hainan.

The bureau has issued a yellow alert and initiated an emergency response for the storm.

As of 7 a.m. Friday, the storm was moving northwest at a speed of 15 km per hour. It is expected to land near Hainan’s city of Wenchang or Lingshui Li Autonomous County Friday afternoon or night, according to the Hainan provincial weather forecast station.

The National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center issued a yellow wave warning on Friday.

From Friday afternoon to Saturday noon, Jebi is expected to create sea waves three meters to 5.5 meters high in the northwest part of the South China Sea and in the Beibu Gulf.

The center also issued a blue storm surge warning, forecasting storm surges up to 150 cm from Friday to Saturday morning in coastal areas of Yangjiang City and the east Leizhou Peninsula, Guangdong Province.

China uses a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

The center urged local authorities to strengthen protection for local fishermen and patrol levees for potential risks.

In the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which borders Guangdong, nearly 10,000 tourists on Weizhou Island have been evacuated to the coastal city of Beihai since Thursday to prepare for the arrival of the storm, according to the city government.

More than 1,300 tourists were stranded on the island for two days in late June, when typhoon Bebinca hit the region.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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