ع
Typhoon Bavi made landfall near Yuhuan in Zhejiang province late Saturday after an initial strike in Taizhou, the China National Meteorological Centre reported, as the storm weakened from super typhoon strength but retained maximum sustained winds near 144 kilometres per hour. The system, which spans roughly 1,000 kilometres at its widest point, had earlier skirted northern Taiwan and passed close to Japan before reaching the mainland, according to a Reuters assessment. Forecasters warned of exceptionally heavy rainfall across eastern Zhejiang and northeastern Fujian through Sunday even as the cyclone continued to lose intensity inland.
Authorities in Zhejiang evacuated more than 1.7 million residents by Saturday morning while Shanghai relocated an additional 34,000 from high-risk zones, Xinhua News Agency figures show. Schools, workplaces and outdoor activities were suspended throughout the affected region with more than 400 flights and dozens of train services cancelled. Beijing separately ordered the evacuation of 100,000 people and maritime agencies recalled fishing vessels while reinforcing coastal infrastructure, the Ministry of Emergency Management stated.
Bavi had already triggered deadly landslides in the Philippines before reaching China, where an Al Jazeera compilation of official tallies placed the death toll at 19 with four others missing. The storm injured at least five people and cut power to thousands in Japan’s Sakishima islands while Taiwan evacuated more than 14,000 from mountainous districts and cancelled all flights after recording up to one metre of forecast rain, a Reuters dispatch noted. No deaths were reported in Taiwan or Japan from the typhoon itself.
The latest landfall follows Typhoon Maysak, which struck southern China only days earlier and left at least 39 dead after a dam breach flooded parts of Nanning, according to an Al Jazeera report citing local officials. That earlier storm forced the evacuation of 130,000 people in Guangxi and caused significant agricultural losses together with two rare tornadoes in Hubei province, Ministry of Emergency Management data indicate. Southern regions were still assessing damage when Bavi arrived, compounding strain on relief resources.
China’s emergency management framework, coordinated by the Ministry of Emergency Management across 32 agencies, has prioritised prevention under a four-tier warning system that was activated at Level II for Zhejiang and Fujian. A 2025 study in the journal Sustainability cited Ministry of Emergency Management figures showing natural disasters affected 95.44 million people in 2023 with direct economic losses of 345.45 billion yuan. The current response included dispatch of central working groups to guide local operations and emphasis on rapid assessment to limit further casualties.
The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters raised emergency levels for multiple river basins while maritime safety authorities placed ports on high alert and tourist sites suspended operations where necessary, official announcements stated. Forecasters expect Bavi to continue weakening as it tracks northwest but its moisture will sustain flood risks across at least 10 provinces in coming days, according to the China National Meteorological Centre. Recovery efforts in areas hit by Maysak are now overlapping with new precautions for the latest storm.
