Typhoon Bavi made landfall in eastern China, striking the coastal city of Yuhuan in Zhejiang around 11:20 p.m. Saturday before making a second landfall in Yueqing, part of Wenzhou, around midnight. Ahead of the storm's arrival, authorities evacuated nearly two million people and suspended transport to mitigate the threat of destructive winds and flooding. At its largest, the storm was approximately the width of France.
After making landfall, the National Meteorological Center reported that Bavi weakened to a severe tropical storm on Sunday morning, eventually weakening further to a tropical storm. Despite this decline in intensity, the system continues to bring strong winds and heavy rain to parts of eastern China. This follows a path where the storm killed 17 people in the Philippines, skirted Japan, and hit Taiwan.
Forecasters warn that Bavi could still unleash widespread rain across eastern and northern provinces for several days. The storm is expected to turn northeast, move into the northern Yellow Sea, and gradually transition into an extra-tropical cyclone. Meanwhile, the national climate agency indicates that China may encounter stronger and more frequent tropical cyclones throughout the summer months.