WENZHOU, China
\nChina evacuated more than 1.8 million people on Saturday \u200bas Typhoon Bavi churned toward the major eastern city of Wenzhou after pummelling Japan\u2019s southern Sakishima island chain with heavy rain and violent \u200cwinds and brushing past northern Taiwan.
\nEven as Bavi continues to slow and weaken on its northwesterly path over cooler seas, the typhoon is still a potent risk due to the sheer volume of moisture it holds within its rain bands, about the size of France from end to end.
\nBavi had maximum sustained winds of 144 km per hour (90 mph), equivalent to Category 1 \u200bon the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and was about 200 km (124 miles) southeast of Wenling in the eastern province of Zhejiang as of 0808 \u200bGMT, according to the National Meteorological Center.
\nBavi is forecast to make landfall around Wenzhou, home to some 10 million people, early on Sunday.
\nState media said more than 1.7 million people had been evacuated across Zhejiang province, where Wenzhou is located, and more than 100,000 in neighbouring Fujian \u200bprovince.
\n\u201cI\u2019m a little worried, but I think it\u2019ll be OK. We\u2019ve been through typhoons before. We\u2019ll get through it,\u201d said Wenzhou resident Huang Xinghuan, 50, who was out \u200bbuying groceries at a traditional wet market before it closed ahead of the typhoon.
\nHuang said his family had stocked about two to three days\u2019 worth of water. \u201cI think supplies are well guaranteed now. There\u2019s no need to panic or stockpile a lot of food or other supplies,\u201d he added.
\nWhile Japan and Taiwan have not so far reported any deaths from the typhoon, \u200b17 people died in the Philippines due to heavy rains brought by an enhanced southwest monsoon, worsened by Bavi\u2019s impact.
\nTaiwan\u2019s fire department said 87 people had been \u200binjured, mostly falls from motorcycles or bicycles, as well as people falling over or being struck by objects.
\nTAIWAN SPARED WORST OF BAVI
\nIn Taiwan, the government evacuated more than 14,000 people \u200cfrom mainly mountainous areas as the island shut down for the approach of Bavi to the north.
\nWhile Bavi did not make landfall in Taiwan, the government took precautions to prevent loss of life, given forecasts for almost 1 metre (3 feet) of rain in some areas.
\nMost of those evacuated were in areas in the north and east, with 920 international flights cancelled, effectively closing Taiwan\u2019s main international airport at Taoyuan, outside the capital Taipei, as well as all 282 domestic flights.
\nAlmost all cities and counties across \u200bTaiwan declared a typhoon holiday for Saturday, \u200bclosing any offices and schools that may have been open on the weekend, though in Taipei some restaurants and convenience stores remained open.
\nThe main north-south high-speed rail line also continued to operate, but with reduced service.
\nIn downtown Taipei some people were still out on the street in \u200bblustery wind and rain.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s OK, it\u2019s not that serious,\u201d said Yeh Mao-hsiung, 68, out for a morning walk with \u200bhis dog. \u201cIt\u2019s just a little bit more wind.\u201d
\nBut in Taipei\u2019s Beitou neighbourhood in the foothills of the mountains surrounding the city, gusts of around 100 kph knocked down trees and swelled rivers.
\nIn Wenzhou, Chen Qiuqin, in her 60s, walked through steady rain on her way to her parents\u2019 home to help them prepare for the typhoon but said she was not too concerned given \u200bthe government\u2019s preparations.
\n\u201cI was worried about the flowerpots on my mother\u2019s balcony, so I\u2019m going to \u200bhelp move them inside. My parents are both elderly and they\u2019re home alone, so I wasn\u2019t at ease,\u201d she said.
\nReporting by Go Nakamura, Xihao Jiang and Ella Cao; Additional reporting by Angie Teo and \u200bYimou Lee in Taipei, Joseph Campbell in Ishigaki, Japan, and Karen Lema in Manila; Writing by Ben Blanchard and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Kim Coghill and William Mallard<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WENZHOU, China China evacuated more than 1.8 million people on Saturday \u200bas Typhoon Bavi churned toward the major eastern city of Wenzhou after pummelling Japan\u2019s southern Sakishima island chain with heavy rain and violent \u200cwinds and brushing past northern Taiwan. Even as Bavi continues to slow and weaken on its northwesterly path over cooler seas, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555813,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-555802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n