Overview

• Podul made landfall in Fujian at 12:30 a.m. local time on August 14 as a severe tropical storm after weakening over Taiwan and is now moving northwest toward Hunan and Jiangxi.
• Officials evacuated about 15,000 coastal residents in Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi and suspended schools and government offices in Chaozhou and beyond.
• Hong Kong received up to 400 mm of rain since midnight, prompting its fifth black rainstorm warning and the adjournment of court hearings and closure of clinics and postal services.
• Transport networks suffered major disruptions, with Guangzhou ranking as the worst-affected airport for flight delays and cancellations and regional rail and ferry services suspended.
• The central government announced 430 million yuan in fresh disaster-relief funding, raising total emergency allocations since April to 5.8 billion yuan, as scientists warn storms are intensifying under climate change.