Tropical storm Hagupit was expected to make landfall in China’s industrial centres in its eastern and southern regions on Monday night, according to the country’s meteorological administration which issued a yellow code warning on the storm. The storm is expected to strengthen into a typhoon when moving toward Chinese coastal regions while pushing seawater inland and causing heavy flooding in some parts of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.
Floods caused by the typhoon are expected to dampen coal consumption in China’s coastal provinces. These areas have been largely unaffected by heavy floods due to the rainy season that hampered the country’s southern and central parts. This typhoon adds another blow to China’s cement industry, a key coal user, which experienced prolonged disruptions from early June when construction works were disrupted by nearly 40 successive days of heavy rainfall.
