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Philippine officials reported that landslides triggered by heavy rains from the approaching typhoon had killed at least 15 people in Mindanao, where rescuers continued searching for those still missing as moderate to heavy downpours persisted into the weekend. Families in vulnerable areas received thousands of sandbags for flood protection while emergency teams worked through buried homes and infrastructure damage on the southern island. The fatalities add to a pattern of deadly weather events in the Philippines, which according to historical meteorological data faces an average of 20 typhoons annually.
A Reuters assessment found that Typhoon Bavi had intensified into a super typhoon with sustained winds reaching 250 kilometres per hour before tracking toward Taiwan, a chain of Japanese islands and southeastern China, where landfall is forecast for Saturday. NASA’s Earth Observatory noted the storm measured roughly 1,000 kilometres at its widest point, making it one of the largest systems of the year and the third Category 5 cyclone of 2026. Forecasters indicated Bavi could bring up to one metre of rainfall to Taiwan’s northern and eastern regions, potentially the heaviest since 1987 according to the island’s Central Weather Administration.
Taiwan’s defence ministry placed 29,000 soldiers on standby to assist with disaster response while schools suspended classes and dozens of flights were cancelled as residents cleared supermarket shelves in anticipation of disruptions. The island’s authorities issued warnings for dangerous winds, flooding and landslides, particularly in mountainous areas north of Taipei. A Taiwanese fisherman identified as Chen Ming-hui told local media, “Don’t be fooled by the nice and calm weather now. A storm like this could be the most terrifying.”
In China, officials warned of significant impacts from the storm, which could move northward after striking Fujian province and possibly make landfall twice in the country, according to a Reuters dispatch citing experts at the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs. Southern parts of the country were still recovering from Typhoon Maysak earlier in the week, which the Chinese authorities said killed at least 39 people, forced the evacuation of more than 130,000 residents and caused extensive losses to livestock and agriculture. Ma Jun, director of the institute, highlighted the risk of compounding disasters in a region already strained by recent extreme weather.
Japan’s meteorological agency placed residents of the Sakishima Islands on high alert for violent winds, landslides, flooding and storm surges, prompting many to tape windows and secure property in advance of the system. Japan Airlines cancelled more than 50 flights affecting around 7,600 passengers while All Nippon Airways grounded 34 services that would have carried about 1,800 travellers, with further cancellations expected over the weekend, a Reuters tally showed. The disruptions extended to international carriers altering routes to and from Taipei as the storm’s outer bands began influencing regional air travel.
AccuWeather expert Jason Nicholls stated that while some weakening is anticipated, Bavi would remain a dangerous storm through its impact on Taiwan and eastern China from Friday into early next week, with a small shift in track potentially altering the scale of damage. NASA’s summary of the event linked the typhoon’s rapid intensification to building El Niño conditions, which meteorologist Jeff Masters writing in Yale Climate Connections described as favouring stronger early-season super typhoons by allowing systems to draw energy from warmer waters over a longer period. The pattern has raised concerns among regional scientists about heightened typhoon activity across East Asia in 2026.
The Philippine civil defence authorities continue to monitor the situation as rains from Bavi’s outer bands exacerbate existing vulnerabilities in landslide-prone areas, building on earlier incidents that have claimed dozens of lives in recent years according to government compilations. Preparations in Taiwan, Japan and China reflect coordinated efforts to mitigate what forecasters describe as one of the most powerful storms to approach the region in several years.
