Typhoon Bavi Makes Landfall in Eastern China's Zhejiang Province

Typhoon Bavi made landfall late Saturday night in the coastal city of Yuhuan in China's eastern Zhejiang province with maximum sustained winds of 144 kph near its center. Chinese authorities evacuated more than 1.7 million people in Zhejiang province by Saturday morning. Shanghai relocated around 34,000 residents from high-risk areas by Saturday noon.

In Fujian province, Ningde moved more than 3,700 people from danger zones by Friday evening, and authorities placed over 17,000 emergency rescue workers on standby. The National Meteorological Center issued an orange typhoon alert and the first red rainstorm alert of the year. Authorities allocated 40 million yuan in central disaster relief funds to Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.

Bavi passed north of Taiwan on Saturday, injuring at least 113 people and prompting the evacuation of more than 14,200 residents. Schools and offices across most of Taiwan were suspended. The storm earlier struck Japan's Sakishima islands, injuring at least five people and leading to the cancellation of more than 200 flights in Okinawa prefecture.

It began as a super typhoon that battered Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands last Monday with 290 km/h winds. Bavi is the second typhoon to reach China in just over a week. Typhoon Maysak made landfall in southern China on July 3, killing at least 39 people.

In the Philippines, landslides triggered by monsoon rains intensified by Bavi killed 17 people. A landslide in Malapatan, Sarangani province, killed at least 10 villagers and left three missing. Another in Calanogas, Lanao del Sur province, killed five people with six others missing.

Two people drowned in floodwaters in Bukidnon province. About 11,000 villagers moved into 77 emergency shelters, mostly in southern provinces. State media reported that Bavi was expected to weaken gradually as it moved northwestward inland.

The typhoon spans 1,000 km at its widest point.