China's eastern coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian are on high alert as Typhoon Bavi, the ninth typhoon of the year, is forecast to make landfall on the coast of Zhejiang from Saturday night to early Sunday morning.
Zhejiang Province raised its typhoon emergency response to the highest Level I on Saturday. In Yuhuan City, coastal patrol teams have been deployed to monitor high-risk areas. In Xiangshan County of Ningbo City, wind speeds increased to 9 to 12 on the Beaufort scale, with authorities stepping up patrols to keep residents and tourists away from dangerous zones. In Leqing City, over 400 shelters have been set up to accommodate evacuees, with essential supplies stocked and basic medical services in place.
As of 14:00 Saturday, Zhejiang had evacuated over 2.21 million people and put into use 19,000 shelters. A total of 163 passenger ferry routes, 912 trains and 855 flights were suspended. Schools, kindergartens and training institutions were closed, and 444 A-class tourist attractions, 78 public cultural venues and 222 high-risk amusement facilities were shut down.
In the neighboring Fujian Province, 70 passenger ferry routes have been suspended, all offshore construction projects and wind farms have been halted, and over 60,000 vessels have returned to port. More than 180,000 people in high-risk areas have been relocated.
In Fujian's Ningde City, local authorities reinforced sea dikes and helped aquaculture farmers secure their facilities. In Fuding City, which is located at the Fujian-Zhejiang border, officials conducted intensive inspections of the 726-meter Xiamen Seawall, the primary defense line for 12,000 residents, with sluice gates scheduled to open after midnight to release floodwaters.
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management has allocated 40 million yuan (about 5.9 million U.S. dollars) in emergency relief funds to support disaster responses in Fujian and Zhejiang.
Typhoon Bavi also brought heavy rain to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in the north.
Beijing has issued a red alert, the highest level in the alert system, for mountain flood risks on Saturday, increasing pre-discharge flows at several local reservoirs. Authorities warned of high flood risks in suburban Pinggu, Huairou and Fangshan districts, urging the public to stay away from mountain streams and avoid outdoor activities in mountainous or water-adjacent areas.
Typhoon Bavi bears down on China's east coast; Zhejiang, Fujian on high alert
