Typhoon Bavi caused severe disruption across East Asia on Saturday, as it lashed Japan’s southern islands with heavy rain and strong winds, and brought life to a near standstill in Taiwan.
Bavi causes death and destruction in the Philippines
The storm, which began as a “super typhoon” in 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 people were missing in the southern island of Mindanao.
Ten people were killed in a landslide in Malapatan town in Sarangani province, while two people drowned in Bukidnon province. Five other people were killed in a landslide in Lanao del Sur, the Philippines’ meteorological agency said, while at least four people were injured.
More than 500,000 people have been affected by the storm, with more than 11,000 forced to flee their homes.
Thousands of people in Japan without electricity
In Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture, the typhoon devastated the Sakishima island chain with winds of up to 144 kilometers (90 mi) per hour.
More than 24,000 homes have lost power, while 345 flights have been canceled and ferry services suspended.
Winds, heavy rain ravage Taipei
In Taiwan, the storm “led to the evacuation of more than 10,000 people at risk of landslides and more than 150,000 homes without power,” DW’s Taiwan correspondent Rick Glauert said.
Authorities canceled 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 to a super typhoon as it moves westward, “winds of more than 100 kilometers per hour and rainfall of more than a meter are affecting the capital, Taipei, downing trees and power lines, flooding rivers and causing local flooding,” Glauert reported.
China is ready for a landslide
The storm is expected to weaken as it moves toward China’s southeast coast, where it could bring very heavy rainfall, Glauert said, “causing more problems for China as it is still grappling with widespread flooding after the storm struck last week.”
Bavi was forecast to strike China’s east coast near Wenzhou early Sunday.
Chinese officials issued flood warnings on Saturday before Typhoon Bavi hit Wenzhou and evacuated more than 600,000 people from vulnerable areas.
Meanwhile, Beijing and several northern provinces also received heavy rain.
In the southeastern city of Fuzhou, authorities sent emergency teams to cut down trees on major roads to reduce the risk of trees falling during high winds.
Edited by: Carl Sexton
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