WENZHOU, China, July 11 — China evacuated more than 1.8 million people on Saturday ahead of Typhoon Bavi hitting the major eastern city of Wenzhou after pummelling Japan's southern Sakishima island chain with heavy rain and violent winds and brushing past northern Taiwan.
Even as Bavi continues to slow and weaken on its northwesterly path over cooler seas, the typhoon is still a potent risk due to the sheer volume of moisture it holds within its rain bands, about the size of France from end to end.
Bavi is forecast to make landfall around Wenzhou, home to some 10 million people, in the early hours of Sunday.
State media said more than half a million people had been evacuated in Zhejiang province, where Wenzhou is located, and more than 100,000 in neighbouring Fujian province.
"I'm a little worried, but I think it'll be OK. We've been through typhoons before. We'll get through it," said Wenzhou resident Huang Xinghuan, 50, out buying groceries at a traditional wet market before it closed ahead of the typhoon.
Huang said his family had stocked about two to three days' worth of water.
"I think supplies are well guaranteed now. There's no need to panic or stockpile a lot of food or other supplies," he added.
While Japan and Taiwan have not reported any deaths from the typhoon, 17 people died in the Philippines due to heavy rains brought by an enhanced southwest monsoon, worsened by Bavi's impact.
Taiwan's fire department said 87 people had been injured, mostly falls from motorcycles or bicycles, as well as people falling over or being struck by objects.
In Taiwan, the government evacuated more than 14,000 people from mainly mountainous areas as the island shut down for the approach of Bavi to the north.
While Bavi did not make landfall on Taiwan, the government took precautions to prevent loss of life, given forecasts for almost 1 metre of rain in some areas.
Almost all cities and counties across Taiwan declared a typhoon holiday for Saturday, closing any offices and schools that may have been open on the weekend, though in Taipei some restaurants and convenience stores remained open.
The main north-south high-speed rail line also continued to operate, but with reduced service.
In downtown Taipei some people were still out on the street in blustery wind and rain.
In KUALA LUMPUR, Bernama reported that Malaysia Airlines has announced additional flight cancellations involving the Kuala Lumpur-Shanghai route due to adverse weather conditions associated with Typhoon Bavi, following yesterday’s advisory on cancellations involving the Kuala Lumpur-Taipei route.
In a statement today, the national carrier said the affected flights on July 11 are MH386 (Kuala Lumpur-Shanghai), MH388 (Kuala Lumpur-Shanghai) and MH389 (Shanghai-Kuala Lumpur).
It said flight MH387 (Shanghai-Kuala Lumpur), scheduled for July 12, has also been cancelled.
Yesterday, Malaysia Airlines announced the cancellation of flights MH366 (Kuala Lumpur-Taipei) and MH367 (Taipei-Kuala Lumpur), originally scheduled to operate on July 11, due to Typhoon Bavi.
The airline said it is closely monitoring developments and will continue to provide updates on flight operations as the weather situation evolves.
“Affected passengers may request a refund or rebook their travel on the same sector at no additional cost within 30 days from the original flight date via the ‘My Booking’ portal, AskMH Live Chat or by contacting the airline’s global contact centre.
“The safety of our passengers and crew remains of utmost importance to Malaysia Airlines,” it said.
