Typhoon Bavi batters east China, Taiwan reports 134 injured

Emergency crews on China's east coast worked Sunday to clear streets strewn with fallen trees and debris after Typhoon Bavi, the year's most powerful storm, made landfall. The typhoon, which had weakened to a tropical storm by morning, continued to threaten widespread rainfall across eastern and northern China.

Ahead of Bavi's arrival, nearly 2 million people, predominantly in the economically vital Zhejiang province, were evacuated. The storm first struck Zhejiang's coastal city of Yuhuan late Saturday before making a second landfall in Yueqing, part of the major city of Wenzhou, around midnight.

In Yueqing, the storm uprooted more than 700 trees and felled over 1,300 others, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Flooding reached depths of about half a vehicle tire in some areas. CCTV also aired footage of a landslide in the city's mountainous north, where large boulders cascaded onto a road, and river waters rose to submerge nearby trees.

As Bavi approached China, it passed north of Taiwan on Saturday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain across the island. Northern Taiwan's Miaoli county recorded nearly 80 cm (31 inches) of rain in one location. Taiwan's fire department reported 134 injuries on Sunday, primarily from falls or being struck by objects, with no fatalities recorded. The transport ministry announced 137 international and 62 domestic flights were canceled on Sunday.