Shenyang, China. Typhoon Bavi, the most powerful storm to hit mainland China this year, forced more than 260,000 people to evacuate in northeastern Liaoning province as intense flooding affected the region.
Heavy rain was expected to continue through Tuesday, with extreme downpours forecast in some areas as the storm drew tropical moisture northward.
Disruptions in northeastern cities
Authorities ordered all schools and training institutions to suspend classes. Transport services were largely disrupted in northeastern cities, including Shenyang and Jilin.
Videos posted on Chinese social media showed a lighthouse in Shenyang after its high-voltage power line was severed, drifting through floodwaters along main roads and under a bridge.
Storm duration and forecast
Bavi, which covers an area the size of France, formed in the Pacific Ocean 13 days earlier and made landfall in eastern China on Saturday night.
The storm’s structure remained largely intact on Monday, making it the longest-lasting tropical cyclone in the Asia-Pacific region this year. Chinese meteorologists said its unusually well-preserved warm core had enabled it to retain much of its moisture as it moved north toward the Korean peninsula.
Bavi was classified as a tropical storm, with intense rainfall expected as it slowed and released the moisture it had retained.
