Typhoon Bavi Strikes Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, and China

Typhoon Bavi triggered landslides on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao that killed at least 15 people and left six others missing, as families were buried overnight and rescue teams continued searching for survivors.

The typhoon had previously struck Guam and the Northern Marianas as a super typhoon on July 6 before being downgraded to typhoon status as it crossed the Pacific toward Taiwan, Japan, and eastern China.

As of July 10, Taiwan's Central Weather Administration measured Bavi's maximum sustained winds at 155 km/h with gusts around 190 km/h. The storm's strong-wind radius of 380 km made it the largest typhoon to hit Taiwan in more than 30 years, since 1987.

The typhoon was forecast to bring up to approximately one metre of rain to parts of Taiwan and generate waves reaching nine metres in height.

Bavi was forecast to make landfall near Wenzhou in eastern China late on July 11 or early July 12, continuing a destructive track across the western Pacific region.

The typhoon arrived amid already severe weather conditions in China, where extreme weather earlier in the week — attributed primarily to Typhoon Maysak — had killed at least 39 people, caused dozens of rivers to overflow, and burst a reservoir dam in southern and central provinces.

Taiwan evacuated thousands of people ahead of the storm's arrival, with more than half of the evacuees coming from the mountainous county of Hualien in Taiwan's east. The government deployed more than 28,000 to 29,000 troops on standby to respond to emergencies.

Taiwanese authorities declared typhoon holidays, closing schools and offices across most cities and counties on July 10 and 11. The government stated its evacuation rationale was to prevent loss of life, taking all precautions while also monitoring two barrier dams in Hualien.

Hundreds to over 1,000 flights were cancelled across the region. Taiwan cancelled all 274 domestic flights and 917 international flights, while more than 260 Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways flights were grounded, along with services by Thai Airways and Malaysia Airlines.

Schools and offices were closed on Japan's remote Sakishima Islands as the typhoon approached, with residents taping windows and draping windproof nets in preparation for the storm's impact.

China warned of 'significant impact' from Typhoon Bavi, placing northern provinces including Beijing, Hebei, Shaanxi, and Liaoning on alerts for rainfall and flooding as the storm tracked toward the mainland.

The Straits Times characterized Bavi as shaping up to be one of the strongest typhoons to affect China in years. The outlet also reported that as of 6am local time on July 11, the typhoon was moving east-southwest of Miyako Island at around 20 km/h with winds of up to 216 km/h, gradually weakening.

BBC News reported the typhoon spanned approximately 1,000 km at its widest point. The outlet also cited Chinese weather forecasts suggesting Bavi could make landfall twice in China and move northward, with its remnants and outer rainbands potentially reaching the Bohai Sea region via Jiangsu and Anhui provinces.

France 24 reported that Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te urged people in the most affected areas to remain on high alert as the storm approached the island.

The Straits Times reported that Taiwan's main north-south high-speed rail line remained open with reduced service during the typhoon, and that a powerful typhoon struck Japan's Okinawa prefecture on July 11, prompting Japan's weather agency to warn of landslides and flooding.

BBC News provided additional detail on the earlier Typhoon Maysak's impacts in China, reporting that the storm caused more than 130,000 evacuations mostly in the Guangxi region, killed large numbers of livestock, resulted in massive agricultural losses, and spawned two rare tornadoes in Hubei province.

The Straits Times, citing Chinese state media, reported that close to 100,000 people were evacuated in Beijing by the afternoon of July 10 in preparation for heavy rainfall from the approaching typhoon.