Typhoon Bavi triggers mass evacuations as 1.7 million flee eastern China

Taipei,UPDATED: Jul 11, 2026 18:04 IST

Chinese authorities evacuated more than 1.7 million people and issued high alerts on Saturday as eastern China prepared for Typhoon Bavi, which brought strong winds and rain to Taiwan and Japan's southern islands. The storm was moving towards Zhejiang province, where it was expected to make landfall before midnight or in the early hours of Sunday and then move inland.

Earlier, in the Philippines, at least 17 people were killed, mostly in landslides triggered by seasonal monsoon rains that were intensified by Bavi before the typhoon moved towards Taiwan, officials said. In Taiwan, dozens were injured and thousands were evacuated, while transport and public services were disrupted across parts of the region.

According to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration, Bavi was passing north of Taiwan on Saturday with maximum sustained winds of 144 kph near its centre. China's Meteorological Centre said the typhoon was expected to move towards Zhejiang in eastern China and make landfall before moving further inland.

In Zhejiang, authorities had evacuated more than 1.7 million people by Saturday morning, the official Xinhua News Agency said. In Shanghai, around 34,000 residents were moved from high-risk areas by Saturday noon. In Ningde city in Fujian province, more than 3,700 people were relocated from high-risk onshore areas by Friday evening, while more than 17,000 emergency rescue workers were placed on standby across the province.

China's Meteorological Centre issued an orange typhoon alert, the second-highest in its four-tier warning system. Many schools and ferry services were suspended, hundreds of flights were cancelled, and some high-speed railway services were halted. State broadcaster CCTV also reported that the centre issued the year's first red alert for rainstorms on Saturday.

Chinese authorities also said they had allocated 40 million yuan, or USD 5.9 million, in central natural disaster relief funds to support typhoon prevention, emergency rescue and relief work in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.

In the Philippines, Office of Civil Defence spokesperson Diego Mariano said a landslide caused by monsoon rains intensified by Bavi struck a village before dawn on Friday in Malapatan town in southern Sarangani province, killing at least 10 villagers and leaving three others missing. Another landslide before dawn on Friday in Calanogas town in southern Lanao del Sur province killed five people, with six others missing.

Mariano said two people also drowned in floodwaters on Wednesday in the southern province of Bukidnon. Office of Civil Defence deputy administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said about 11,000 villagers had moved to 77 emergency shelters, mostly in southern Philippine provinces, in recent days because of the stormy weather.

In Taiwan, authorities said that as of 8 am on Saturday, at least 87 people had been injured in the typhoon, with some hurt while riding motorcycles in rain and strong winds on slippery roads. More than 14,200 people were evacuated across the island, including from Hualien county in the east and Taichung in central Taiwan. Schools and offices in most parts of Taiwan were suspended on Saturday.

Across Japan's southern islands in Okinawa prefecture, local authorities warned of high waves, strong winds and storm surges. Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported that more than 200 flights were cancelled across the region, while islands including Ishigaki were hit by strong winds and rain. Overall, Typhoon Bavi disrupted daily life across Taiwan and Japan's southern islands, prompted large-scale evacuations in China, and was linked to deadly landslides and flooding in the Philippines.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends