Summary
- Typhoon Bavi made landfall late on Saturday in the coastal city of Taizhou in eastern China, following massive emergency evacuations that displaced nearly 2 million people across the affected regions.
- The National Meteorological Center reported that Bavi carried maximum sustained winds of about 144 kilometres per hour (90 mph),equivalent to a Category 1 storm, when it struck the coast at approximately 11:20 pm local time.
- In Taiwan, where the storm did not make a direct landfall, the fire department reported 113 injuries, primarily caused by falling objects or accidents involving motorcycles and bicycles during high winds.
Typhoon Bavi made landfall late on Saturday in the coastal city of Taizhou in eastern China, following massive emergency evacuations that displaced nearly 2 million people across the affected regions. The storm arrived on the Chinese mainland after pummelling Japan’s southern Sakishima island chain and skirting past the northern coast of Taiwan. Although the typhoon has begun to slow and weaken on its northwesterly path, meteorologists warn it still poses a severe flood risk due to the immense volume of moisture packed within its expansive rain bands.
The National Meteorological Center reported that Bavi carried maximum sustained winds of about 144 kilometres per hour (90 mph),equivalent to a Category 1 storm, when it struck the coast at approximately 11:20 pm local time. State media confirmed that more than 1.7 million people were evacuated across Zhejiang province, where Taizhou is located. Additional precautionary evacuations included more than 100,000 residents each from neighbouring Fujian province and Beijing, alongside some 34,000 people from Shanghai.
While Japan and Taiwan have not reported any casualties, the broader weather system has proved fatal elsewhere. Heavy seasonal rains from an enhanced southwest monsoon, exacerbated by Bavi’s atmospheric impact, resulted in 17 deaths in the Philippines. In Taiwan, where the storm did not make a direct landfall, the fire department reported 113 injuries, primarily caused by falling objects or accidents involving motorcycles and bicycles during high winds.
Taiwanese authorities took extensive precautions ahead of the storm, evacuating more than 14,000 people from vulnerable mountainous regions in anticipation of up to one metre of rainfall. The island implemented a widespread holiday to close schools and businesses, whilst grounding 920 international flights and 282 domestic flights, effectively shutting down Taoyuan International Airport. Main transport links, including the north-south high-speed rail line, remained open on a significantly reduced schedule as the storm passed to the north.
