The strongest typhoon to hit Chinese territory this year, Typhoon Noul, made landfall in southern China over the weekend, bringing destructive gale-force winds and torrential rainfall that have forced mass evacuations and widespread disruptions across Guangdong Province and Hong Kong.
According to China’s National Meteorological Center, the storm moved inland over the coastal region of Huidong County, Huizhou City, Guangdong, on Sunday afternoon. The Hong Kong Observatory confirmed the typhoon carried maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour as it crossed into Guangdong’s interior, where it gradually weakened after landfall. Even as its intensity diminished, Noul still unleashed severe wind gusts and extreme rainfall across large swathes of the region, leaving damage in its wake.
Precautions ahead of the storm led authorities to evacuate more than 715,000 residents across Guangdong by Sunday, state broadcaster China National Radio reported. That figure marked a sharp increase from the 340,000 people evacuated just a day earlier, as the storm’s projected path shifted and threat levels rose. State-run CCTV also documented downed trees across multiple coastal locations in Guangdong, including Huilai County, as strong winds swept the shoreline ahead of landfall.
In Hong Kong, the storm triggered major travel disruptions and safety incidents: Hong Kong International Airport canceled roughly 350 flights on Sunday, while local authorities confirmed at least nine people across the city suffered storm-related injuries. A day earlier, as Noul approached the special administrative region, a section of a large scaffolding structure attached to a high-rise building collapsed amid worsening conditions. Hong Kong Police confirmed no injuries were reported from that incident.
Meteorologists warn that heavy rain and strong winds will continue to impact parts of southern Guangdong and southeastern Fujian Province in the coming days as the remnants of Noul move slowly inland. Fishing boats across the region have already anchored in sheltered harbors, including the Shenzhen-Shanwei Special Cooperation Zone, to wait out the storm’s aftermath.
Noul also brushed Taiwan over the weekend: the island’s Central Weather Administration reported the storm passed over waters south of Taiwan on Saturday before continuing west toward mainland China, leaving only scattered rainfall on the island with no major damage reported.
This storm marks the third significant typhoon to impact China in July 2026. Earlier in the month, Typhoon Maysak hit southern China on July 3, followed by Typhoon Bavi, which made landfall in eastern China on July 11 and forced the evacuation of more than two million residents.