WENZHOU: China evacuated almost two million people on Saturday as Typhoon Bavi churned towards the major eastern city of Wenzhou after pummelling Japan’s southern Sakishima island chain with heavy rain and violent winds.
Classes, work, transport and outdoor activities have been suspended, and more than 400 flights and dozens of train services cancelled in Zhejiang province. “The proactive, all-out mobilisation, which is sparing no effort or cost, is undertaken entirely to guard against the (worst-case) scenario,” the government in Wenzhou said in a statement.
Even as Bavi continues to slow and weaken on its northwesterly path over cooler seas, the typhoon is still a potent risk due to the sheer volume of moisture it holds within its rain bands, about the size of France from end to end.
Bavi had maximum sustained winds of 144 kilometres per hour (kph), equivalent to Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and was about 200km southeast of Wenling in the eastern province of Zhejiang around midday, according to China’s meteorological office. Bavi is forecast to make landfall around Wenzhou, home to 10 million people, early on Sunday.
Over 400 flights, dozens of train services cancelled in Zhejiang
Residents used wood to reinforce metal shutters protecting shops and taped windows, with Bavi forecast to bring “exceptionally heavy rains” to eastern Zhejiang and northeastern Fujian province, CCTV footage showed.
Torrential rain further north prompted the evacuation of more than 100,000 people from their homes in Beijing, the government said, as water discharge flows from the capital’s Miyun Reservoir were ramped up to capture potential floodwaters.
More than 130,000 people have left their homes in Fujian and around 34,000 people from Shanghai’s coastal areas and high-risk areas, state media reported.
“I’m a little worried, but I think it’ll be OK. We’ve been through typhoons before. We’ll get through it,” said Wenzhou resident Huang Xinghuan, 50, who was out buying groceries at a traditional wet market before it closed ahead of the typhoon.
Huang said his family had stocked about two to three days’ worth of water. “I think supplies are well guaranteed now. There’s no need to panic or stockpile a lot of food or other supplies,” he added.
While Japan did not report any deaths from the typhoon, 17 people died in the Philippines due to heavy rains brought by an enhanced southwest spell of rain, worsened by Bavi’s impact.
In Taiwan, more than 14,000 people were evacuated from mainly mountainous areas as the island shut down for the approach of Bavi to the north. While Bavi did not make landfall in Taiwan, the government took precautions to prevent loss of life, given forecasts for almost one metre of rain in some areas.
Taiwan’s fire department said 87 people had been injured, mostly falls from motorcycles or bicycles, as well as people falling over or being struck by objects. In Taipei’s Beitou neighbourhood in the foothills of the mountains surrounding the city, gusts of around 100kph knocked down trees and swelled rivers.
In China’s Wenzhou, Chen Qiuqin, in her 60s, walked through steady rain on her way to her parents’ home to help them prepare for the typhoon, but said she was not too concerned given the government’s preparations.
“I was worried about the flowerpots on my mother’s balcony, so I’m going to help move them inside. My parents are both elderly and they’re home alone, so I wasn’t at ease,” she said.
Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2026