Hundreds of thousands evacuated as Typhoon Bavi barrels towards China

Chinese authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people as Typhoon Bavi swept toward the country's eastern coast, before the storm made landfall in Zhejiang province late at night. The storm capped a punishing stretch of extreme weather across the region, following an earlier tropical system that had already caused deaths and damage.

Evacuations and preparations

More than 1.7 million people were moved to safety in eastern China as the typhoon approached, according to official figures, with thousands more relocated in coastal cities. Across Taiwan, tens of thousands were also evacuated, and large numbers of emergency rescue workers were placed on standby.

Authorities issued a high-level alert, cancelled hundreds of flights, reduced rail services, and suspended schools and ferry operations. In Japan, more than 200 flights were cancelled as the weather system disrupted travel across the wider region.

A dangerous storm in a difficult week

Bavi struck the coast with maximum sustained winds around 144 kilometres per hour and was expected to weaken gradually after making landfall. Forecasters warned that heavy moisture in its rain bands posed a serious flooding risk even as the winds eased.

The typhoon arrived close on the heels of another tropical system that had battered southern China, and the broader spell of severe weather was linked to deaths in the Philippines and Taiwan, as well as tornadoes reported in central China as Bavi neared.

Why it matters

Powerful storms striking in quick succession stretch emergency services and test the limits of evacuation planning. As scientists warn that a warming climate can intensify such events, the scale of the response in China is a reminder of how vital early warnings and mass evacuations are in protecting lives, lessons that matter for disaster-prone coastal communities everywhere, including in India.