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Xinlu Liang

Lawrence Chung

Albee Zhang

Shanghai raised its local typhoon warning on Saturday afternoon as eastern China braced for the arrival of Typhoon Bavi, cancelling flights and ferry services and evacuating thousands of people.
As of 6pm, Shanghai transport authorities had limited the speed on the overground sections of four subway lines, and warned they might impose further limits or partially suspend services on the rest of the network on Sunday and Monday.
The city government has also imposed a 60km/h (35mph) speed limit on all highways and cancelled all ferry services.
Community workers in Shanghai patrolled the streets, using loudspeakers to remind residents to close windows and doors and secure objects indoors after the city’s typhoon warning was raised from blue to yellow, the third highest level in a four-tier system.
Dozens of events were cancelled, including a fireworks display in the Pudong district and a tourism festival along the banks of the Suzhou River.
Shanghai Disney Resort has pushed back its opening time on Sunday from 10am to 12pm, according to a statement.
The municipal government said China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines had cancelled 188 flights serving airports in Shanghai and Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces. Juneyao Airlines cancelled 116 domestic and international flights on Saturday, with further cancellations expected on Sunday.
China Southern Airlines has cancelled 43 flights to or from Shanghai, while Spring Airlines has cancelled 16.
The neighbouring province of Zhejiang raised its typhoon emergency preparations to the highest level, which allows it to relocate large numbers of people, close schools and workplaces, and mobilise all resources needed.
In Zhejiang’s capital of Hangzhou, the 35.7km (over 22-mile) Hangzhou Bay Bridge sea crossing was closed to traffic from 7.30pm on Saturday, while subway authorities said all services would be suspended from 6am on Sunday until further notice.
Railway authorities in the province have suspended 29 high-speed trains and nine other services, while temporary stoppages are planned on several other lines.
Cangnan county, a possible landing point for the typhoon in Zhejiang’s Wenzhou city, has relocated 150,000 people to safety and set up temporary shelters in local schools.
Sanmen county in Taizhou city, another place where the typhoon may land, has stopped all outdoor activities and construction work, and closed down schools, tourist sites and public transport. It has also advised local residents not to leave their homes unless necessary.


In Yuhuan, a coastal city between the two landing points, local media posted footage online of heavy rain and waves more than 10 metres (33 feet) high caused by high winds as the storm approached.
Zheng Siyu, a resident of Yueching on the Zhejiang coast, said the wind and rain was already “very heavy” on Saturday afternoon and only a few cars and motorbikes could be seen on the roads.
“I have experienced typhoons before but I’m still very worried,” Zheng said, adding that she was stocking up on food and water and had charged her electronic devices in preparation. She has also moved her car to higher ground in case of flooding.
She added that the neighbourhood authorities had been pruning trees to lower the risk of falling branches and had made all parking free.
In Hong Kong, over 130 flights to and from Taiwan, mainland China and Japan have been cancelled while 10 high-speed rail services have also been axed.
In its 10am bulletin on Saturday, the mainland National Meteorological Centre (NMC) kept an orange typhoon warning in place, while upgrading the rainstorm alert to red – the highest level in the four-tier system and the first such warning this year.
Taiwan bore the brunt of the storm on Saturday, with hundreds of flights and ferry services being cancelled. More than 14,000 people were forced to evacuate, over 150,000 households were left without power and 36 people were injured.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport cancelled 913 flights over two days, including 760 on Saturday. Airlines were expected to gradually resume services after 4am on Sunday as the typhoon moved away.
The cancelled services included flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Shenzhen, Bangkok, Osaka, Ho Chi Minh City, San Francisco, Vancouver, Milan, Paris, Los Angeles and Amsterdam.
Ferry services were also hit, with 116 sailings on 13 routes suspended on Saturday. Maritime authorities urged people to avoid travelling to Taiwan’s outlying islands in case they became stranded.

Taiwan’s weather authorities said the greatest threat would last until Saturday evening as the centre of the typhoon passed closest to the island and brought the strongest winds and heaviest rainfall.
The sea and land warnings could be lifted as early as Sunday morning as the storm moved towards the Chinese mainland, the Central Weather Administration said.
Mountainous areas of northern and central Taiwan were warned of torrential rain, while low-lying areas faced a risk from landslides, rockfalls and flash floods.
At least 36 people were injured, mostly in scooter accidents caused by strong winds or slippery roads, or after falling or being struck by debris while preparing for the storm. No deaths or serious injuries were reported.
More than 14,200 people had been evacuated, with Hualien, Taichung and Kaohsiung the worst-affected areas.
The Taiwan Power Company said it had mobilised around 16,000 personnel for repairs after over 150,000 households were hit by power cuts, and had restored supplies to more than 110,000 of those affected.
Despite the severe weather, more than 1,000 Pokemon Go players gathered at Taipei Main Station for the game’s global annual event after outdoor festivities planned in the capital were suspended because of the typhoon.
Hundreds of players also crowded inside and around Central Park metro station in Kaohsiung, braving the wind and rain to join Pokemon Go group raids.
Taiwan’s military placed more than 20,000 personnel on disaster-response standby, with around 2,000 vehicles and pieces of equipment prepared for rescue operations. Amphibious assault vehicles and inflatable rescue boats were pre-positioned in Suao, Yilan county, one of the areas most exposed to the storm.
As of 5pm, the centre of the storm, a severe typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 40 metres per second (Force 13), was located about 165km off Wenling city of Zhejiang, moving northwest at 30 km/h towards southern Zhejiang.
The storm is now forecast to make landfall in Zhejiang late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, with winds of 33 to 40 metres per second (Force 12 to 13), slightly less than earlier forecast. It will then move to the northwest and gradually weaken.
The red rainstorm warning, effective between 2pm on Saturday and 2pm Sunday, forecasts torrential downpours of up to 800mm (31 inches) in parts of eastern Zhejiang, northeastern Fujian and north-central Taiwan over the same 24-hour period.
Elsewhere, rainfall of 250 to 500mm is expected in eastern and southern Zhejiang and northern Fujian, and 250 to 280mm in parts of Beijing and Hebei.
Gale-force winds of Force 9 to 11, with gusts of up to Force 12 to 13, are expected across coastal areas from Shanghai to Fujian province, as well as the East China Sea. Winds of Force 12 to 13, plus gusts of up to Force 14 to 16, are expected at the typhoon’s centre.
In its 6am bulletin on Saturday, the NMC said Bavi had regained strength – reaching severe typhoon status at midnight.
Other areas of mainland China have also stepped up their emergency preparations, mobilising emergency response teams – including firefighters and crews to repair power grids – and volunteers.
Fujian raised its typhoon emergency response to Level 2 on Friday afternoon, ordering all schools and training institutions to halt outdoor activities and construction work.
In the southern province of Guangdong, 21 passenger ferries and 117 construction vessels have been taken out of service, with 108 workers evacuated from offshore wind platforms as of 2pm on Friday.
The storm has also forced shows and concerts to be cancelled in affected areas. The Hong Kong singer G.E.M. cancelled three concerts in Hangzhou, while Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai has delayed Saturday’s show in Nanchang in Jiangxi province until Monday.

On Friday, Premier Li Qiang chaired an executive meeting of the State Council to coordinate flood-control and disaster-relief efforts.
It called on local authorities to carry out inspections for hidden risks, step up checks on vulnerable dykes and rivers where the waters had passed warning levels, and maintain strict oversight of dangerous reservoirs.
Authorities were told to improve forecast accuracy, issue timely “call-and-response” warnings and evacuate people in high-risk areas – especially vulnerable groups – when danger loomed.
The meeting also called on all regions and departments to uphold their political responsibilities, prepare for the worst-case scenario and guard against complacency.
In 2021, the impact of typhoons reached inland as far as the landlocked central province of Henan, causing extreme rainfall and floods that killed almost 400 people.


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Scores of flights and ferry services have been cancelled across eastern China, while Zhejiang province has stepped up emergency preparations


Scores of flights and ferry services have been cancelled across eastern China, while Zhejiang province has stepped up emergency preparations.


Typhoon Bavi: Shanghai, Hangzhou brace for impact as nearby cities start evacuations

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Scores of flights and ferry services have been cancelled across eastern China, while Zhejiang province has stepped up emergency preparations

Scores of flights and ferry services have been cancelled across eastern China, while Zhejiang province has stepped up emergency preparations