Overview
- The storm struck Zhejiang province late Saturday after passing north of Taiwan and Japan’s southern islands, and Chinese authorities evacuated more than 1.7 million people from coastal and flood-prone areas.
- Bavi weakened from supertyphoon strength but still carried powerful winds of about 144 kph near its center and enormous rain bands that forecasters say could produce catastrophic flooding.
- Transport and power services were widely disrupted with hundreds to more than 900 international flight cancellations in Taiwan, dozens more in Japan, suspended ferries and thousands of households losing electricity.
- Heavy monsoon rains enhanced by Bavi triggered deadly landslides in the southern Philippines that killed at least 15–17 people and displaced thousands, adding to the human toll before China’s landfall.
- Officials issued high-tier warnings including an orange typhoon alert and the year’s first red rainstorm alert, mobilized tens of thousands of rescue workers and allocated central relief funds because damaged reservoirs and saturated catchments raise near-term rescue and flood risks.