More than 1.7 million people have been evacuated from eastern China after Typhoon Bavi made landfall in Zhejiang province, bringing destructive winds, torrential rain and widespread disruption across one of the country’s most densely populated coastal regions.
Authorities ordered large-scale evacuations ahead of the storm as it approached the mainland after sweeping past Taiwan and Japan’s southern islands.
China’s National Meteorological Center issued an orange typhoon warning, the country’s second-highest alert level, alongside a red alert for heavy rainfall in affected areas.
Schools were closed, ferry services suspended and hundreds of flights cancelled as emergency officials sought to reduce the risk to life.
State media reported that around 1.7 million residents were evacuated in Zhejiang province, while Shanghai relocated about 34,000 people from vulnerable areas. More than 17,000 emergency rescue personnel were placed on standby in neighbouring Fujian province as authorities prepared for flooding, storm surges and possible landslides.
Bavi had earlier crossed the western Pacific, bringing damaging winds and heavy rain to Japan’s Okinawa region and Taiwan, where injuries and transport disruptions were reported.
In the Philippines, enhanced monsoon rains linked to the storm triggered landslides that killed at least 17 people.
The typhoon struck China only days after severe flooding caused by Tropical Storm Maysak claimed dozens of lives in the south, highlighting the country’s ongoing battle with successive extreme weather events this season.
Authorities are expected to continue monitoring flood risks as Bavi weakens while moving inland.
