More than 710,000 people were moved to safety in China's Guangdong province as Typhoon Noul crossed the southern coast and began tracking inland. The storm made landfall early on July 26, 2026, near Huidong county in the city of Huizhou, after authorities canceled transport and expanded evacuations through exposed coastal districts.
The latest relocation total more than doubled an earlier count of 340,000. About 205,000 people were temporarily displaced in Huizhou and another 192,000 in Shanwei, according to figures reported by TASS from the Nanfang Daily newspaper. The increase shows that the operation continued through the final approach rather than stopping once the first coastal areas were cleared.
China's national weather center placed landfall at approximately 3:50 a.m. local time Sunday. TASS reported winds of 45 meters per second as the system struck Guangdong, while CBS News cited sustained winds near 90 mph during its approach across the South China Sea. The measurements came from different stages of the storm, but both described a powerful system capable of damaging exposed structures and interrupting travel.
Guangdong canceled train services for Sunday. Hong Kong airport showed more than 150 canceled flights across Saturday and Sunday, with other departures at risk as the storm moved closer. In Hong Kong, part of the scaffolding on a high-rise building collapsed on Saturday; police said initial reports indicated no injuries. The cancellations illustrate the storm's reach beyond its landfall point: airlines and rail operators have to position crews and equipment before conditions worsen, so disruption begins before the center arrives and can persist after it moves inland.
Noul arrived after two other July storms had already forced large protective movements in China. More than 2 million people were evacuated before Typhoon Bavi made landfall on July 11, while Typhoon Maysak crossed the southern coast on July 3. Those earlier operations do not determine Noul's outcome, but they place the latest disruption inside a demanding month for emergency crews, rail operators and local shelters. Repeated storms compress the time available to restore services, inspect damaged structures and reset evacuation facilities before the next warning. They can also leave the ground wetter before a new round of rain, making the inland phase of each storm operationally important even after its center moves away from the coast.
Evacuation Growth Followed the Storm's Final Approach
The movement from 340,000 to more than 710,000 evacuees matters because it records a change in the protective perimeter, not a revised estimate of the same group. Authorities added people as forecast tracks narrowed and the arrival window shortened. Huizhou, where the storm came ashore, carried the largest named share, while Shanwei to the east accounted for nearly as many relocations.
Those city totals also reveal why a province-wide number can rise quickly. Evacuation orders have to cover homes in flood-prone areas, workers and travelers affected by transport shutdowns, and communities where wind damage could block access after landfall. Moving people before roads deteriorate gives emergency teams a larger margin than waiting to confirm damage neighborhood by neighborhood.
Taiwan's weather agency reported rain in southern and eastern parts of the island as Noul passed over waters to the south, then moved away. The wider effects show how one circulation can disrupt several transport and warning systems even when the center crosses only one stretch of mainland coastline.
Weakening Winds Transfer the Risk to Inland Rain
The typhoon was moving north and gradually losing wind strength after landfall, but that did not end the emergency. Heavy rain was expected across Guangdong and farther inland in Jiangxi and Hunan, while earlier forecasts also identified parts of Fujian. A weakening cyclone can still create flooding and landslide danger after its coastal wind peak has passed.
The next operational test is therefore the handoff from evacuation to return. Rail and flight schedules cannot normalize solely because maximum winds decline; officials also need usable roads, stable slopes, functioning power and rainfall forecasts that support reopening. The large early relocation reduced exposure at landfall. Its value will be measured by whether authorities keep people away from inland flood zones long enough for the storm's remaining water, not only its wind, to move through.