More than 600,000 people have been moved to safety from at-risk areas as the powerful Typhoon Bavi bears down on China’s east coast. Though it has weakened from a “super typhoon,” meteorologists say it remains extremely dangerous, with heavy rain and gusty winds feared.
According to Chinese authorities, more than 500,000 people were evacuated from the eastern province of Zhejiang and about 100,000 more from neighboring Fujian province. After earlier hitting Japan’s Sakishima Islands and passing close to northern Taiwan, the typhoon is now heading toward China. The country’s meteorological department has forecast that it could make landfall on the coast of Wenzhou, a densely populated city in Zhejiang, at dawn on Sunday.
China’s national meteorological agency has issued an “orange alert,” the second-highest in its four-tier typhoon warning system. Hundreds of flights have been canceled, rail services limited, and many schools and ferry services temporarily suspended to cope with the disaster.
Huang Xinghuan, a 50-year-old resident of Wenzhou, told the Reuters news agency that although he was somewhat worried, he believed they could cope. His family had stocked enough food and water for two to three days, he said, adding that they had faced several typhoons in the past and were hopeful they could manage this time too.
In Fujian’s Ningde city, more than 3,700 people had been moved from risky coastal areas by Friday evening, and more than 17,000 emergency rescue workers were kept on standby. Meteorologists say Bavi weakened significantly as it moved across the Pacific Ocean, but that the huge amount of moisture in its rain clouds means the risk of heavy rain, flash floods and landslides remains.
Meanwhile, the southern Chinese regions of Hainan and Guangxi are still struggling to recover from Tropical Storm Maisak, which struck earlier this week. In the Guangxi city of Nanning, a flood caused by a dam breach killed at least 39 people.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report