Coastal provinces Zhejiang, Fujian elevate emergency response levels as Typhoon Bavi approaches

Authorities in east China's Zhejiang and Fujian provinces have escalated emergency responses and ramped up precautionary measures as Typhoon Bavi expected to make landfall along the country's eastern coast in the early hours of Sunday.

Zhejiang raised its typhoon emergency response to the highest Level I at 11:00 on Saturday.

In Wenzhou City, where a Level I typhoon emergency response had already been put in place, authorities have evacuated over 890,000 people to temporary shelters as of Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, all fishing boats in city's Cangnan County have been brought onto shore and secured to prevent collisions in extreme weather.

In neighboring Fujian Province, the flood control and drought relief headquarters raised its emergency response to Level II on Friday afternoon.

Ningde City raised the response to Level I on Saturday morning. Starting from noon on Saturday, local authorities have ordered a citywide suspension of work, production, classes, and markets.

In Zherong County of Ningde, a mountainous area in northeast Fujian near the Zhejiang border, 124 standardized shelters have been set up and over 1,300 residents and migrant workers had been relocated as of Saturday morning.

In the nearby Zhouning County, a hilly region prone to landslides and collapses, authorities had set up 153 shelters and relocated more than 960 people from high-risk zones by Friday evening.

China has a four-tier typhoon emergency response system, with Level I representing the highest level of severity.

Coastal provinces Zhejiang, Fujian elevate emergency response levels as Typhoon Bavi approaches

Thirty-six people were injured and more than 14,000 evacuated as of 08:00 on Saturday, as Typhoon Bavi, the ninth typhoon of the year, reached northeastern Taiwan in China early Saturday morning.

The storm has also forced the cancellation of flights in Taipei and Taichung, and the suspension of work and classes in most areas across the island.

The latest information indicated that winds and rainfall were intensifying across Taiwan, with scattered reports of damage including power outages and a landslide.

Weather authorities said the center of the typhoon was located over waters about 360 kilometers southeast of Taipei, moving northwestward at a speed of 27 kilometers per hour.

Heavy rainfall will continue throughout the day, with extremely heavy rain forecast for the mountainous areas north of Taichung, and strong winds in many areas. The public has been urged to avoid going to beaches due to high waves.

Rainfall is expected to continue into the night in the mountainous areas of central and southern Taiwan, said meteorological officials, adding that rainfall across the island will gradually subside on Sunday.

36 injured, over 14,000 evacuated as Typhoon Bavi reaches Taiwan