Nearly two million evacuated as Typhoon Bavi barrels towards China
News Source
β’Sat, 11 Jul 2026 08:30:26 +0000
π° What Happened
China evacuated more than 1.8 million people as Typhoon Bavi churned towards the major eastern city of Wenzhou, home to about 10 million people. The storm also pummelled Japan's southern Sakishima islands with heavy rain and violent winds before brushing past northern Taiwan. Hundreds of flights were cancelled in Taiwan as the island shut down. Earlier, two landslides triggered by Bavi's heavy rains killed 17 people in the Philippines. The typhoon is forecast to make landfall around Wenzhou early Sunday local time.
π The Backstory
Typhoon Bavi has maximum sustained winds of 144 km/h, equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane. Even as it slows over cooler seas, it remains dangerous because its rain bands are about the size of France. More than 1.7 million people were evacuated across Zhejiang province alone, with another 100,000 from neighbouring Fujian. The storm follows a pattern of severe weather events in Asia that have become more intense in recent years. Authorities in China have experience with mass evacuations but the scale of this one is enormous.
π― Why It Matters
Typhoons this size threaten millions of lives and cause billions in damage. Understanding how countries prepare and respond helps all of us learn about climate risks and disaster readiness.
China evacuated more than 1.8 million people as Typhoon Bavi churned towards the major eastern city of Wenzhou, home to about 10 million people. The storm also pummelled Japan's southern Sakishima islands with heavy rain and violent winds before brushing past northern Taiwan. Hundreds of flights were cancelled in Taiwan as the island shut down. Earlier, two landslides triggered by Bavi's heavy rains killed 17 people in the Philippines. The typhoon is forecast to make landfall around Wenzhou early Sunday local time.
Typhoon Bavi has maximum sustained winds of 144 km/h, equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane. Even as it slows over cooler seas, it remains dangerous because its rain bands are about the size of France. More than 1.7 million people were evacuated across Zhejiang province alone, with another 100,000 from neighbouring Fujian. The storm follows a pattern of severe weather events in Asia that have become more intense in recent years. Authorities in China have experience with mass evacuations but the scale of this one is enormous.
Typhoons this size threaten millions of lives and cause billions in damage. Understanding how countries prepare and respond helps all of us learn about climate risks and disaster readiness.