Haikui wreaks havoc in the South China Sea region after Typhoon Saola

In the first week of September 2023, first tropical storm Saola and now Typhoon Haikui wreaked havoc one after the other in the South China Sea region.

Its effect has been seen in almost all the countries of the region including the southern region of China, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam etc. located in the South China Sea region.

• Typhoon Saola made landfall on the southern coast in Guangdong, China on 2 September 2023. During this, the winds were blowing at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour.
• Chinese officials have warned that the storm could be one of the five most powerful to hit the southern province since 1949.
• While Typhoon Haikui is wreaking havoc especially in Taiwan. Typhoon Haikui made landfall in eastern Taiwan on 3 September 2023. During this time winds were blowing at a speed of 145 km per hour.
• Taiwan's two major airlines, UNI Air and Mandarin Airlines, have cancelled all flights. The threat of Haikui storm is also looming over China and the Philippines.
• Earlier in 2019 (after four years), the most powerful tropical storm Bailu came to Taiwan.

Tropical Storm:

• Tropical cyclones originate over the oceans of tropical regions and move towards the coastal regions.
• The place from where the tropical cyclone crosses the coast and reaches the land is called the landfall of the cyclone. It is known by different names in different regions of the world.

Regional names of tropical cyclones:

Area Cyclone Name

• Indian Ocean Cyclone
• Australia Willy-Willy
• Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Ocean Hurricanes
• Western Pacific Ocean and South China Sea Typhoons

South China Sea Region:

• The South China Sea is a marginal sea located south of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean.
• The South China Sea, from Singapore to the Gulf of Taiwan, is spread over an area of about 35,00,000 sq km. It is one of the largest water bodies after the five oceans of the world.

Taiwan:

• Currency: New Taiwan Dollar
• Capital: Taipei
• President: Tsai Ing-wen
• Prime Minister: Su Tseng-chan