Typhoon Bavi makes landfall in eastern China as more than 1 million are evacuated

BEIJING (AP) — Typhoon Bavi made landfall in China’s eastern province of Zhejiang late on Saturday night and was expected to gradually weaken, state media reported.

Bavi previously brought strong winds and rain to Japan’s southern islands and Taiwan. It was the second typhoon to impact China in just over a week’s time. The first, Maysak, made landfall in southern China on July 3.

Chinese authorities evacuated more than 1.7 million people on Saturday and issued high alerts as eastern China braced for Bavi, which had maximum sustained winds of 144 kph (89 mph) near its center.

Bavi passed north of Taiwan on Saturday and is expected to move northwestward inland after making landfall in the coastal city of Yuhuan in Zhejiang, with its intensity gradually weakening.

Earlier, at least 17 people were killed in the southern Philippines, mostly due to landslides that were set off by seasonal monsoon rains that Bavi intensified before the typhoon blew away toward Taiwan, Philippine officials said Saturday.

China evacuates over 1.7 million people

Authorities in Zhejiang had evacuated more than 1.7 million people as of Saturday morning, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Shanghai, also on China’s eastern coast, relocated around 34,000 residents from high-risk areas by Saturday noon, according to Xinhua.

In southeastern China, cities near the coast prepared for the impacts. In the city of Ningde in Fujian province, more than 3,700 people were relocated from high-risk onshore areas as of Friday evening, Xinhua said. Authorities in Fujian province placed over 17,000 emergency rescue workers on standby.

China’s National Meteorological Center issued an orange typhoon alert, the second-highest on a four-tier level, with many schools and ferry services suspended. Hundreds of flights have been canceled, and some high-speed railway services halted.

The center on Saturday also issued the first red alert for rainstorms of the year, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Chinese authorities said Saturday they have allocated 40 million yuan ($5.9 million) in central natural disaster relief funds to support Zhejiang and Fujian provinces’ typhoon prevention and emergency rescue and relief efforts.

Landslides kill more than a dozen in the Philippines

In the Philippines, a landslide set off by monsoon rains that Bavi intensified hit a village before dawn Friday in the coastal town of Malapatan in southern Sarangani province, killing at least 10 villagers and leaving three others missing, Office of Civil Defense spokesperson Diego Mariano said.

A separate landslide in Calanogas town in southern Lanao del Sur province before dawn on Friday killed five people, with six others missing, he said.

Two people drowned in floodwaters Wednesday in the southern province of Bukidnon, Mariano said without providing other details.

Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said about 11,000 villagers moved to 77 emergency shelters mostly in southern Philippine provinces in recent days due to the stormy weather.

More than 110 people injured in Taiwan as high winds hit Japan

As of Saturday at 7 p.m., Taiwanese authorities registered at least 113 injuries from Typhoon Bavi, some sustained while riding motorcycles in rain and winds on slippery roads.

More than 14,200 people had also been evacuated around the island, including from the eastern county of Hualien and the central city of Taichung. Schools and offices in most parts of Taiwan were suspended Saturday.

Across Japan’s southern islands in the prefecture of Okinawa, local authorities have warned of high waves, strong winds and storm surges, with more than 200 flights canceled across the region, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. Strong winds and rain have hit islands including Ishigaki.

The Associated Press