Beijing: Typhoon Bavi, the ninth typhoon of the year, landed on the coast of east China’s Zhejiang Province around 11:20 pm on Saturday, Xinhua reported, citing the Zhejiang provincial meteorological observatory.
Bavi previously brought strong winds and rain to Japan’s southern islands and Taiwan. It was the second typhoon in a week to impact China in just more than a week’s time. The first, Maysak, made landfall in southern China last weekend, Al Jazeera reported.
Chinese authorities evacuated more than 1.7 million people on Saturday and issued high alerts as eastern China braced for Bavi, which had maximum sustained winds of 144kph (89mph) near its centre.
Bavi is expected to move northwestward inland after making landfall, with its intensity gradually weakening. Although not as strong as when it thundered through the US Pacific islands on Monday and tracked northwest, Bavi remains a significant risk due to the large volumes of moisture it carries in its rain bands, as per Al Jazeera.
China’s national weather agency earlier issued an orange typhoon alert - the second-highest on a four-level rating. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled, rail travel services have been reduced, and many schools and ferry services have been suspended.
In Ningde city, Fujian province, more than 3,700 people were evacuated from high-risk onshore areas by Friday evening, Xinhua said. Authorities there have placed more than 17,000 emergency rescue workers on standby. (ANI)
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