Typhoon Podul set to make landfall, may affect southern China in coming days

Typhoon Podul is forecast to make landfall on the southeastern coast of China's Taiwan region on Wednesday noon, bringing strong winds and heavy rains that are expected to affect a wide swath of southern China in the coming days, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Tai Xinyan, chief forecaster at NMC, said the center of Typhoon Podul, categorized as a severe typhoon, was located approximately 85 kilometers southeast of Taitung, Taiwan, at 10 am. The storm packed maximum sustained winds of 42 meters per second.

"Podul is forecast to move northwest at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour and is expected to make landfall along the southeastern coast of Taiwan around noon today," Tai said. The intensity at landfall will be at typhoon or severe typhoon level, with winds ranging from 38 to 42 meters per second.

The storm will enter the Taiwan Strait this afternoon and make a second landfall along the coast from Xiamen, Fujian province, to Shantou, Guangdong province, between Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. The second landfall is projected to be at strong tropical storm or typhoon strength, with winds of 25 to 33 meters per second, she added.

Affected by Podul, areas including parts of Taiwan island and its coastal regions, the central and southern coasts of Fujian could see winds reaching 28.4 meters per second over the next two days.

In addition to strong winds, Podul and its outer rainbands are expected to bring heavy to torrential rains to Taiwan, southern Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Guizhou provinces, as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region over the next three days.

"After making landfall in Fujian tonight or early tomorrow morning, Typhoon Podul will continue to move northwest and deep inland," Tai said, highlighting the potential for a compounding effect due to recent frequent rainfall in southern China.

"The soil moisture content is already high," she said. "We should pay particular attention to the cumulative effects of Podul's heavy rainfall and the multiple previous rain events, which could easily trigger mountain torrents, mudslides, flash floods in small and medium-sized rivers, as well as urban and rural flooding," she added.