Typhoon Bavi weakens but still brings strong winds, rain to China

Lead

Typhoon Bavi, which made landfall in eastern China's Zhejiang province, has weakened to a tropical storm but continues to bring strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the country, according to reports from the South China Morning Post and The Hindu. The storm has triggered large-scale evacuations, transport suspensions, and urban flooding in several provinces.

Coverage Comparison

Reports from the South China Morning Post and The Hindu—World offer overlapping but evolving accounts of Bavi's path and impact. An early report from The Hindu—World said that Bavi, with maximum sustained winds of 155 kph, was heading toward China's east coast and was expected to pass north of Taiwan. A later report from the same outlet said the storm had weakened, with maximum sustained winds of 144 kph near its center, and was passing north of Taiwan on Saturday. Both reports note that Bavi brought strong winds and rain to Japan's southern islands and Taiwan.

According to a report from The Hindu—World published on July 12, Bavi weakened to a tropical storm hours after making landfall in Zhejiang, and its intensity continued to decrease as it moved northwestward into Anhui province. The South China Morning Post also confirmed that Bavi had weakened to a tropical storm but said it was continuing to bring torrential downpours to northeast China, particularly affecting the city of Shenyang in Liaoning province.

The reports differ on the scale of evacuations in Zhejiang. An early report from The Hindu—World said more than 17,000 people had been evacuated in Zhejiang, while a later report from the same outlet said over 1.7 million people had been evacuated as of Saturday morning. Another report, published after landfall, said more than 2.2 million people were evacuated in Zhejiang. Similarly, evacuation figures for Shanghai vary from 34,000 residents in an early report to over 290,000 in a later report. The discrepancies likely reflect the evolving nature of the storm and the timing of the reports.

Key Claims

• Storm intensity and path: Bavi weakened from supertyphoon strength to a tropical storm, with maximum sustained winds reported at 155 kph and 144 kph at different times, as reported by The Hindu—World. The storm passed north of Taiwan and made landfall in Zhejiang before moving into Anhui, according to The Hindu—World and the South China Morning Post.

• Regional impact: Bavi brought strong winds and rain to Japan's southern islands and Taiwan, with schools closed in Taipei and fishing boats tied up in northern Taiwan, as reported by The Hindu—World. In the Philippines, at least 17 people were killed in the southern part of the country due to landslides that were intensified by Bavi's rains, according to The Hindu—World.

• China evacuations: Massive evacuations were reported across eastern China. The Hindu—World reported that over 1 million people were evacuated in eastern China, with Zhejiang seeing more than 1.7 million and later over 2.2 million evacuated, and Shanghai evacuating over 290,000 people from at-risk areas. The South China Morning Post reported that over 360,000 people were evacuated in Liaoning province alone.

• Transport disruptions: Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning, halted non-essential travel and shut down parts of its subway network due to the storm, as reported by the South China Morning Post. Shanghai's Pudong and Hongqiao airports were expected to cancel around 653 flights, according to the South China Morning Post, citing state broadcaster CCTV.

• Damage and alerts: Heavy rain triggered urban flooding in Shenyang, with water depths reaching nearly 300mm on some main roads, as reported by the South China Morning Post. In Zhejiang, strong winds toppled more than 1,300 trees in Yueqing city, according to the same outlet. China's National Meteorological Center issued an orange typhoon alert, the second-highest level, as reported by The Hindu—World.

Perspectives

• Chinese authorities: Reports from state media, as cited by the South China Morning Post and The Hindu—World, emphasize the scale of evacuations and preparedness measures, including placing rescue workers on standby and issuing high-level alerts. The official Xinhua News Agency and state broadcaster CCTV provided many of the evacuation and damage figures.

• Taiwan's Central Weather Administration: The agency tracked Bavi's path, noting it passed north of Taiwan without making direct landfall. Taiwan's fire department reported at least 134 injuries on the island, according to The Hindu—World.

• Philippine officials: Officials in the Philippines attributed at least 17 deaths in the southern part of the country to landslides caused by seasonal monsoon rains that Bavi intensified, as reported by The Hindu—World.