Mass Evacuations as Bavi Strikes Chinese Coast
Typhoon Bavi slammed into eastern China late Saturday, hammering the coast with winds reaching 145 km/h. The storm, which had already battered Taiwan and Japan, forced nearly two million people to flee. Authorities shuttered schools and scrubbed transport links, enacting emergency protocols to blunt the threat of flooding.
Zhejiang Braces for Worst-Case Scenario
State-run news agency Xinhua reported that Bavi made landfall at 11:20 p.m. local time on Saturday, hitting the city of Yuhuan before grinding northwest. Though the system lost some of its fury upon impact, meteorological authorities kept the region on high alert.
The state response was massive. In Zhejiang alone, officials relocated over 1.7 million people. In Wenzhou, a city of nearly 10 million inhabitants, authorities described the evacuations as a necessary preparation for a “worst-case scenario.” The human cost was matched by infrastructure paralysis: dozens of rail lines and over 400 flights were suspended, while outdoor activities were ordered to close.
Trail of Destruction Across Taiwan and Fujian
The storm’s path toward the mainland left a jagged wake. Before reaching China, Bavi lashed Taiwan with torrential rain and winds that whipped up waves potentially reaching 10 meters, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The island saw hundreds of flight cancellations and power cuts affecting over 170,000 households. More than 14,000 residents were forced to evacuate.
Neighboring Fujian province saw over 130,000 individuals moved to safety. In Shanghai, officials cleared 34,000 people from coastal zones, while in Beijing, authorities evacuated more than 100,000 people to mitigate flood risks, increasing the discharge volume of the Miyun Reservoir.
A Diminishing but Potent Storm System
Bavi was a super-typhoon during its trek over Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, but it weakened as it approached the Asian coast. By Saturday, sustained winds had dropped to 137 km/h, though gusts still reached 173 km/h.
Climate observers point to warming oceans as a driver for such intensification. Data from the European Copernicus Marine service shows that the world’s oceans saw their warmest June on record, a phenomenon fueled by the combined weight of the El Niño effect and broader climate change.
Regional Fallout and Local Frustration
The storm follows a brutal week of weather across East and Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, landslides and rain-linked incidents claimed 18 lives, mostly on Mindanao, while nearly 11,000 people were displaced and ports were left non-operational. Japan also suffered, with over 18,000 households and installations on Okinawa losing power and dozens of flights grounded.
While officials hold to their safety mandates, the scale of the evacuations has sparked debate. In Taiwan, some business owners voiced frustration, arguing that the official warnings were overly cautious given the conditions experienced in port cities like Keelung.