Wenzhou, China. China evacuated more than 600,000 people on Saturday as Typhoon Bavi approached the eastern city of Wenzhou, where it was forecast to make landfall early on Sunday.
The typhoon had previously brought heavy rain and strong winds to Japan’s southern Sakishima island chain and passed near northern Taiwan. Authorities reported no deaths in Japan or Taiwan, while heavy rains linked to an enhanced southwest monsoon worsened by Bavi killed 17 people in the Philippines.
Evacuations in eastern China
State media said more than 500,000 people were evacuated from Zhejiang province, where Wenzhou is located, and more than 100,000 people were moved from neighbouring Fujian province.
Wenzhou has a population of about 10 million people. Bavi was moving northwest over cooler seas and had slowed and weakened, but remained a risk because of the large volume of moisture contained in its rain bands, which stretched about the length of France.
Residents prepare
Wenzhou resident Huang Xinghuan, 50, said he was concerned but confident the city would manage the storm, citing previous experience with typhoons.
His family had stored two to three days’ worth of water, and he said supplies were adequately guaranteed and there was no need for panic buying or extensive stockpiling.
Chen Qiuqin, who is in her 60s, said she was walking through steady rain to help her elderly parents prepare. She said she planned to move flowerpots from her mother’s balcony indoors and was concerned because her parents were alone at home, although she said government preparations had reduced her concerns.