Hundreds of thousands evacuated as Typhoon Bavi barrels towards China

China has evacuated over 600,000 residents from its eastern provinces as Typhoon Bavi approaches the major city of Wenzhou. The storm previously battered Japan's southern islands and skirted northern Taiwan.

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I’m a little worried, but I think it’ll be ok. We’ve been through typhoons before. We’ll get through it.

Forecasters expect Bavi to make landfall near Wenzhou, a city of 10 million people, in the early hours of Sunday. Authorities in Zhejiang province, where Wenzhou is located, reported that more than half a million people had been evacuated. Neighboring Fujian province evacuated over 100,000 residents.

Despite the storm's weakening, its large rain bands pose a significant risk. Residents in Wenzhou expressed some concern but also resilience, having experienced typhoons before. "I'm a little worried, but I think it'll be ok. We've been through typhoons before. We'll get through it," said local resident Huang Xinghuan, 50, who had stocked up on a few days' worth of water.

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I think supplies are well guaranteed now. There’s no need to panic or stockpile a lot of food or other supplies.

While Japan and Taiwan have not reported any typhoon-related deaths, the storm's impact exacerbated monsoon rains in the Philippines, leading to 17 fatalities. Taiwan evacuated over 14,000 people and canceled nearly all flights as a precaution, though the worst of the storm passed north of the island.

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It’s OK, it’s not that serious. It’s just a little bit more wind.