Typhoon Bavi forces Taiwan evacuations, batters Japan islands

More than 14,000 people in Taiwan have fled their homes, and many shops remain closed, as a typhoon pounding Japan's remote southwestern islands swept towards China on Saturday.

Typhoon Bavi knocked out power to thousands in Okinawa and lashed northern Taiwan as it bore down on storm-battered China, where it is expected to make landfall early Sunday.

Streets were largely deserted in Taiwan's port city of Keelung, which is expected to be one of the hardest hit areas on the island, as Bavi whipped up strong winds and dumped heavy rain.

"Everyone is afraid of the severe weather and staying indoors, but I only came out because I have orders," a breakfast shop owner surnamed Tsai told AFP.

"Some people are on duty and wouldn't have anything to eat so I still need to deliver food to them," the 50-year-old said.

"If the wind and rain start picking up in a bit, I'll be heading home early."

After hitting Guam and the Northern Marianas on Monday as a super typhoon, Bavi was downgraded to a typhoon as it moved across the Pacific Ocean.

Bavi's maximum sustained wind speeds slowed to 144 kilometres (89 miles) per hour, with gusts of around 180 kilometres per hour, on Saturday, Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as the storm "weakened in intensity".

The CWA warned of "extremely torrential rain" across northern Taiwan and "dangerous waves" of up to 10 metres (33 feet) high along the coast as Bavi neared the island's north.

More than 27,000 households are without power.
"The typhoon's impact will be more significant during the daytime today," CWA forecaster Jason Cheng told AFP.

"The period of greatest impact is expected around noon through the afternoon." Statues outside a temple in Keelung are covered with protective tarpaulins ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Bavi.

Bavi had been on track on Friday to be the largest typhoon to hit Taiwan in more than 30 years, but since then its strong-wind radius has shrunk to 350 kilometres, Cheng said.

Some Taiwanese expressed frustration at the government's typhoon warnings, which caused most businesses to shut their doors on Friday and people to shelter indoors.

"The government reports make it sound absolutely terrifying, panicking everyone, right?" said another breakfast shop owner in Keelung surnamed Li, upset at the loss of business from the storm.

"Look at how it has caused people to scramble for groceries and clear out the shelves. Honestly, there hasn't even been much wind or rain these past two days."

'Adverse weather conditions'

More than 18,000 households and facilities across Okinawa lost power as the typhoon pounded Japan's remote southwestern islands, with the Miyako region hardest hit.

Japanese airlines cancelled dozens of flights, affecting more than 26,000 passengers.

"Miyako is taking worst of typhoon Bavi," professional storm-chaser James Reynolds posted on X from Ishigaki on Saturday.

"Conditions on Ishigaki gale force with some overnight gusts to typhoon strength."

In the Philippines, two landslides triggered by heavy rains driven by Bavi killed at least 15 people on the southern island of Mindanao on Friday, authorities said.

Dozens of ports remain closed across the archipelago nation, with 313 vessels sheltering from "adverse weather conditions".

Bavi is expected to make landfall in eastern China in the early hours of Sunday.

"Exceptionally heavy rains" are forecast for eastern Zhejiang province and northeastern Fujian province, according to state television broadcaster CCTV.

In Zhejiang's Xiaguan Town, the entire population of more than 10,000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to their exposure to "strong winds", CCTV said.

Extreme weather has already wreaked havoc on southern and central China this week, with storms leaving at least 39 dead and causing dozens of rivers to overflow and a reservoir dam to burst.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)