Typhoon Bavi caused severe disruption across East Asia on Saturday, as it battered Japan’s southern islands with heavy rain and strong winds, and brought life in Taiwan to a near standstill.
Bavi causes death and destruction in the Philippines
The storm, which began as a “super typhoon” over the US Pacific territories of Guam and the Northern Marianas last week, also triggered floods and landslides in the Philippines, killing at least 17 people, while nine were missing in the southern island of Mindanao.
Ten people died in a landslide in the town of Malapatan in the province of Sarangani, while two drowned in Bukidnon province. Five others died in a landslide in Lanao del Sur, the Philippines’ meteorological agency said, adding that at least four people were injured in landslides.
Over 500,000 have been affected by the storm, with more than 11,000 forced from their homes.
Thousands without power in Japan
In Japan’s Okinawa prefecture, the storm lashed the Sakishima island chain with sustained winds of 144 kilometers (90 miles) per hour.
More than 24,000 households have lost power, while 345 flights have been canceled and ferry services have been suspended.
Winds, heavy rainfall batter Taipei
In Taiwan, the typhoon has prompted the “evacuation of more than 10,000 people at risk from landslides and left over 150,000 households without power,” DW’s Taiwan correspondent Rik Glauert said.
Authorities cancelled more than 1,100 domestic and international flights, while schools and offices were closed for two days.
Taiwanese authorities have also closed schools and offices for two days.
Although the storm has been downgraded from a super typhoon as it has moved westwards, “winds exceeding 100 kph and more than a meter of rainfall are battering the capital Taipei, toppling trees and power lines, swelling rivers and causing localized flooding,” Glauert reported.
China braces for landfall
The storm is expected to continue weakening as it heads towards China’s southeast coast, where it could bring a lot of heavy rain, “causing more problems for China as it still reels from widespread flooding after a typhoon last week,” Glauert said.
Bavi was forecast to strike China’s eastern coast near Wenzhou early on Sunday.
Chinese authorities issued flood alerts and evacuated more than 600,000 people on Saturday in vulnerable areas ahead of Typhoon Bavi hitting Wenzhou.
Meanwhile, Beijing and several northern provinces were also braced for heavy rainfall.
In southeastern Fuzhou City, authorities rushed emergency teams to trim trees along key roads to reduce the risk of falling trees during high winds.
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Edited by: Karl Sexton
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