Typhoon Noul weakens but threatens heavy rain in southern China

Typhoon Noul weakened to a tropical storm after landfall in southern China, but Chinese authorities warned heavy to torrential rain would keep falling across much of the region until Tuesday. The storm struck the coast of Huidong County at about 3:50 a.m. local time, keeping flood and emergency crews on alert even as the wind field shrank.

The danger had already shifted from peak wind damage to runoff, flooding and transport strain. Before landfall, Hong Kong Observatory said Noul had maximum sustained winds of 130 kph, or 81 mph, near its center. The system was expected to affect southern China, including Hong Kong, over the weekend, and later weather notices said it was the year’s 12th tropical cyclone and China’s third in July.

Authorities moved quickly across Guangdong province and neighboring areas. Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated in Guangdong, at least dozens of flights were canceled, and public transport was suspended in parts of southern China. Those measures reflected the risk that a weakening typhoon can still overwhelm drainage systems, cut road links and leave river basins and low-lying neighborhoods exposed to prolonged rain.

The warning period did not end with landfall. Officials said the storm would dump heavy to torrential rain across much of southern China for two days, a forecast that kept emergency planners focused on flooding, landslides and utility outages rather than the wind speed alone. In a region where dense cities, coastal infrastructure and mountainous terrain sit close together, a storm’s most damaging phase often arrives after the center passes.

Southern China has already seen how quickly days of rain can turn deadly. Earlier this month, flooding from heavy rain in the region killed 39 people, a reminder that the post-landfall hours can carry the highest public-safety risk even after a typhoon weakens.