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Typhoon Noul makes landfall in southern China's Guangdong, 700,000 evacuated

Typhoon Noul, China's strongest storm of 2026, struck Huizhou in Guangdong province early Sunday, flooding streets, blocking roads, cutting power, and triggering mass evacuations; the storm has since weakened to a tropical storm as it moves inland

Weather· active How Life Changes ·10 takes · ·rbtfl upd Jul 27, 2026
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The split

The same story, as told by newsrooms in different countries. Their words, attributed and linked.

Qatar

Al Jazeera

“Noul hit southern Guangdong province and neighbouring Hong Kong, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the region.”

International broadcaster covering China's disaster response from a global-South-facing perspectiveread the original ↗

China

CGTN

“Emergency crews are working around the clock in Huidong County after Typhoon Noul hit the coastal area with powerful winds and heavy rain. The storm caused widespread power outages, blocked more than 30 roads.”

Chinese state English-language broadcaster; operational detail from Huidong County, official emergency response framingread the original ↗

Taiwan

Taipei Times

“Typhoon Noul weakened to a tropical storm as it moved inland after lashing a stretch of southern China with strong winds and rain, prompting emergency relief in the fiercest storm to hit the country this year.”

Taiwan-based paper watching mainland China's disaster response; characterised Noul as the fiercest storm to hit China this yearread the original ↗

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Summary

Typhoon Noul made landfall in Huizhou, Guangdong province, early Sunday local time, striking southern China as the strongest typhoon to hit the country in 2026. More than 700,000 people were evacuated ahead of and during the storm. In Huidong County, emergency crews worked through the night to clear more than 30 blocked roads and restore power after widespread outages. The storm also brought strong winds and heavy rain to Hong Kong. China maintained a Level-III emergency flood response for three provinces as Noul moved inland. By Sunday afternoon it had weakened to a tropical storm, though flooding and disruption remained across coastal Guangdong.

The split

Al Jazeera led with the human scale, hundreds of thousands displaced, and the storm's simultaneous hit on Guangdong and Hong Kong, with no attention to China's internal political management. CGTN framed the same events as a story of organised government competence: emergency crews deploying overnight, roads cleared, power being restored. The Taipei Times, writing from across the strait, cited Chinese state media on the storm's severity while keeping editorial distance, noting Noul's status as the year's fiercest storm without endorsing Beijing's framing of the response as fully effective. The absence of independent Chinese domestic reporting on displacement, casualties, or economic damage is the most significant gap: the true human and supply-chain toll remains unverified outside state channels.

By the numbers

  • 700,000+, people evacuated before and during Typhoon Noul's Guangdong landfall
  • 30+, roads blocked in Huidong County as of Sunday morning
  • Level-III, China's emergency flood response tier activated across three provinces
  • 1st in 2026, Noul's severity ranking as the strongest typhoon to strike China this year

Why it matters

Guangdong is China's largest manufacturing province and a critical export hub; large-scale infrastructure disruption carries real economic weight beyond the immediate human toll. The storm's severity, the strongest to hit China this year, tests both the regional emergency response system and the resilience of supply chains running through the province's coastal cities.

What to watch

  • Official damage assessments from Guangdong provincial authorities and any fatality figures
  • Rate of road and power-network restoration in Huidong and surrounding counties
  • Whether downstream flooding threatens Guangdong's inland industrial zones as water drains from the coastal area

The briefing, by email