Chinese authorities evacuated more than 900,000 people ahead of Typhoon Bavi’s expected landfall on Sunday, as the country continued to grapple with the deadly aftermath of Typhoon Maysak, which struck Hainan earlier this month. Bavi is forecast to hit the eastern city of Wenzhou after lashing Taiwan and Japan’s southwestern islands.
The evacuations come after days of extreme weather across southern and central China, where storms have already left at least 39 people dead, caused dozens of rivers to overflow and triggered the collapse of a reservoir dam, according to Chinese authorities. Taiwanese authorities evacuated 14,000 people, mainly from mountainous areas, while hundreds of flights were cancelled and more than 170,000 households lost electricity. It reported maximum sustained winds of 137 kmph, with gusts reaching around 173 kmph, while warning of ‘extremely torrential rain’ and coastal waves of up to 10 metres. In the Philippines, authorities said the death toll linked to heavy rain and landslides associated with the enhanced southwest monsoon, intensified by Bavi, had risen to 18. Nearly 11,000 people were displaced and 313 vessels remained sheltered as dozens of ports stayed closed.
Because forecasts indicated that some areas could receive nearly one metre of rainfall, although Bavi is not expected to make landfall on the island, the government said precautionary measures were necessary.
The Central Weather Administration said Bavi had weakened from a super typhoon to a typhoon after moving across the Pacific Ocean. The European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service said last week that the world’s oceans experienced their hottest June on record, while the return of El Nino this year is also expected to contribute to more extreme weather conditions across the Pacific. Scientists quoted by AFP have warned that warmer ocean temperatures are increasing the intensity of tropical cyclones.