BEIJING, China – Typhoon Bavi moved toward China’s eastern coastline on Friday after prompting widespread precautions in Taiwan, where schools closed, flights were canceled and ports prepared for severe weather as the powerful storm advanced across the western Pacific.
The storm is expected to reach China’s coast on Saturday night near the border of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, according to official forecasts. Its arrival comes after a week of extreme weather that has already left at least 50 people dead in separate flooding and severe storm events across China, highlighting the mounting humanitarian and emergency response challenges facing the country.
Taiwan braces as Bavi approaches
Typhoon Bavi was carrying maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour (96 mph) as it tracked northwest, with forecasters expecting it to pass north of Taiwan before heading toward mainland China.
Taipei suspended classes on Friday as heavy rain and strong winds were forecast to affect the island through Saturday. Fishing vessels were secured in northern ports, while many international flights to destinations including Japan and Hong Kong were canceled through Saturday, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported, although some services continued to operate.
The storm’s projected path also takes it across remote Japanese islands before approaching the Chinese mainland.
China mobilizes emergency response
Chinese authorities have expanded emergency preparations in advance of the expected landfall.
State-run Xinhua News Agency reported that more than 17,000 residents have been evacuated in Zhejiang province, while approximately 170,000 rescue personnel have been placed on standby. In neighboring Fujian province, officials suspended several ferry services because of rough seas and strong winds and instructed fishing boats to return to port.
Bavi has weakened since earlier this week, when it reached supertyphoon strength and brought destructive winds to Saipan and other U.S. Pacific territories.
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Latest storm follows deadly flooding and severe weather
The approaching typhoon arrives as China continues to recover from multiple deadly weather disasters.
Authorities in southern China announced Thursday that flooding triggered by Tropical Storm Maysak killed 39 people in the Guangxi region after days of record rainfall. Floodwaters breached reservoirs, including the partial collapse of a dam in Hengzhou, sending fast-moving muddy water across surrounding communities.
Many residents became stranded on upper floors of buildings, in some cases without electricity for several days, before rescue teams were able to reach them.
Earlier in the week, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes killed 11 people in Hubei province in central China.
Separately, a landslide in Gansu province on Tuesday claimed the lives of 21 forestry workers. Authorities said that disaster was not related to the recent storms.
Authorities monitor evolving weather risks
Emergency agencies continue to monitor Typhoon Bavi as it approaches China’s densely populated eastern coast, where authorities are maintaining evacuation measures, maritime restrictions and rescue resources ahead of the storm’s expected landfall.
The latest weather emergency underscores the strain placed on disaster response systems after successive storms and natural disasters affected several regions of the country within the same week.
This report is based on reporting by The Associated Press.
Article Topics: Typhoon Bavi | China | Taiwan | Extreme Weather | Flooding | Disaster Response | Zhejiang | Fujian
