China Braces for Another Typhoon After Yagi Slammed South Coast

Typhoon Bebinca is forecast to hit the east coast of China early Monday, threatening to bring excessive rainfall that could disrupt oil refineries and LNG import terminals and paralyze transport.

The expected landfall of Bebinca, currently more than a thousand kilometers offshore, comes just after Super Typhoon Yagi claimed lives and caused extensive damage in the region, including Hainan island and northern Vietnam. China is scheduled to start a three-day mid autumn festival holiday from Sunday, and any severe weather is likely to disrupt travel and further stifle consumption.

The projected path of Bebinca, which China refers to as Beibijia, leads to coastal areas between Zhejiang province and northern Fujian province. That means the storm is likely to cause the closure of Zhoushan port and refineries in Ningbo as it brings wind speeds of up to 162 kilometers (100 miles) per hour, according to the latest report from the National Meteorological Centre.

The system is currently forecast to make landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. The intensity of the storm is seen weakening rapidly after landfall, China’s weather bureau said.

Photograph: The port of Ningbo-Zhoushan in Ningbo, China. Photo credit: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg