Typhoon Bavi bore down on China's densely populated east coast Friday as the death toll from a devastating week of storms across the country climbed to 50, with vulnerable communities still reeling from flooding that left thousands stranded without power or rescue.
The powerful typhoon carried maximum sustained winds of 162 kilometers per hour as it approached Taiwan, where 23 million people braced for heavy rains Friday night into Saturday. Schools closed in Taipei, the capital, while fishing boats crowded ports along the northern coast. Taiwan's Central News Agency reported widespread flight cancellations to Japan, Hong Kong and other destinations through Saturday.
Bavi's northwest track was forecast to carry it over remote Japanese islands before making landfall Saturday night south of Shanghai, near the border between Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. The storm had weakened from supertyphoon strength earlier this week, when it brought violent winds to Saipan and other U.S. territories in the Pacific.
Mass Evacuations and Emergency Response
More than 17,000 people were evacuated in Zhejiang province as authorities mobilized 170,000 rescue workers on standby, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Fujian province suspended ferry routes because of strong winds and rough seas, calling for fishing boats to return to port. The preparations came as working-class coastal communities faced the prospect of yet another natural disaster in a week marked by unprecedented weather emergencies.
Deadly Aftermath of Earlier Storms
The approaching typhoon compounded a crisis already unfolding in southern China, where Tropical Storm Maysak killed 39 people in flooding after days of record rainfall in Guangxi. The rains breached reservoirs, including the dramatic collapse of part of a dam in Hengzhou that inundated a wide area with fast-flowing muddy water.
The floods stranded people on the second and higher floors of buildings for days, many without power, until rescuers could reach them. The images of families trapped in their homes highlighted the vulnerability of communities in regions where aging infrastructure struggled to withstand extreme weather events.
Another 11 people died 4 days ago when severe thunderstorms and tornadoes hit Hubei province in central China on Monday night. Separately, a landslide killed 21 forestry workers in western China's Gansu province 3 days ago on Tuesday in a disaster that wasn't storm-related. The forestry workers, often employed in remote areas with limited safety protections, represented another group of vulnerable workers facing deadly conditions.
Infrastructure Under Pressure
The dam collapse in Hengzhou underscored concerns about China's ability to protect its population as climate patterns shift and extreme weather becomes more frequent. The breach sent muddy water surging across populated areas, forcing emergency evacuations and leaving communities to grapple with destroyed homes and livelihoods.
Fishing communities along the coast faced economic hardship as boats remained tied up in port, unable to work during the storm warnings. The suspension of ferry routes disrupted transportation networks that millions depend on for commerce and daily life.
Why This Matters:
The death of 50 people in a single week of storms reveals the human cost of extreme weather events hitting communities with inadequate infrastructure and emergency response systems. Working families in coastal regions, forestry workers in remote areas, and residents of flood-prone zones bear the heaviest burden when natural disasters strike. The dam collapse in Hengzhou raises urgent questions about the safety and maintenance of aging infrastructure designed for weather patterns that no longer exist. As climate change intensifies storms and rainfall, the need for substantial public investment in resilient infrastructure, early warning systems, and emergency response becomes a matter of survival for millions of vulnerable people across East Asia. The evacuation of more than 17,000 people and the deployment of 170,000 rescue workers demonstrate the massive public resources required to protect communities from increasingly frequent natural disasters.