Typhoon 'Bavi' forces two million people to evacuate their homes in China - Sarmad
Around two million people have been forced to evacuate their homes in China as Typhoon Pabuk approaches, having already swept through Taiwan and several Japanese islands on Saturday, causing power outages for thousands of households.
In Zhejiang province (east), more than 1.7 million people were evacuated, according to state media, as the typhoon is expected to make landfall there on Sunday morning.
Classes, work, public transport, and outdoor activities have been suspended, with more than 400 flights and dozens of train services canceled in the province.
The government of Wenzhou, a city of about 10 million people in Zhejiang, said in a statement that “this massive mobilization… is solely aimed at preparing for the worst-case scenarios.”
Residents are preparing by reinforcing the doors and windows of shops. Typhoon Pabuk is expected to bring “very heavy rainfall” to the eastern provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian, according to state television channel CCTV.
Additionally, more than 130,000 people were evacuated in Fujian, and another 34,000 in coastal and high-risk areas of Shanghai.
In Beijing to the north, more than 100,000 people were forced to evacuate due to heavy rains, according to capital authorities.
Bad weather has caused devastation across southern and central China this week, with storms killing at least 39 people, causing dozens of rivers to flood, and destroying a dam.
In Taiwan, more than 14,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes, while many shops closed their doors as Typhoon Pabuk approached.
Hundreds of flights canceled
Hundreds of flights were canceled and power was cut to more than 170,000 homes on the island.
Tsai, who owns a breakfast restaurant, told AFP, “Everyone is afraid of the bad weather and is staying home. I only went out because I had orders to deliver.”
Tsai, who works in the coastal city of Keelung, which was severely damaged by the bad weather, added, “Some people are forced to work and have nothing to eat, so I am still compelled to deliver food to them.”
Downgraded
After causing massive destruction in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands when it was classified as a super typhoon, its status was downgraded to a regular typhoon.
Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration announced on Saturday that the maximum wind speed of Typhoon Pabuk had dropped to 137 kilometers per hour, confirming that the storm was beginning to weaken.
It predicted very heavy rainfall in the northern part of the island and rough waves reaching up to ten meters in height.
Jason Cheng, an expert at the Central Weather Administration, said the typhoon was expected to hit the island with force “from the morning until late afternoon.”
He noted that Typhoon Pabuk, which was expected to be the largest typhoon to strike Taiwan in 30 years, had seen a reduction in the range of its violent winds.
Ocean warming is increasing the intensity of tropical storms and raising humidity levels, leading to heavy rainfall.
Rising death toll
In the Philippines, the death toll from landslides and other incidents caused by heavy rains rose from 15 to 18, most of them occurring on Mindanao island.
About 11,000 people were evacuated from their homes, while dozens of ports across the archipelago remain closed.
In Japan, power was cut to more than 18,000 homes on Okinawa island, and dozens of flights were canceled.
However, in Taiwan, some residents are not hiding their frustration with government warnings that forced many businesses to close.
He told me, while running another breakfast restaurant in Keelung, that “the government’s data makes it look terrifying; it’s causing panic among everyone.” For his part, Kang Yu-cheng, 19, who works in a small shop in New Taipei, said, “It’s just like an ordinary rainy day.”
