Typhoon Bavi Causes Damage and Evacuations in Taiwan and Japan

Typhoon Bavi has brought severe weather to southern Japanese islands and is now heading towards Taiwan, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations and thousands of evacuations. The storm previously caused damage on the U.S. island of Rota, near Guam. In Japan's Okinawa prefecture, wind gusts reached nearly 200 kilometers per hour, causing debris to fly on Ishigaki Island and damaging boats in the harbor. Heavy rainfall led to power outages for 24,000 households, and ferry services were suspended. Ishigaki, a popular tourist destination, saw 345 flights canceled. Although Bavi is weakening and not expected to directly hit Taiwan, authorities have initiated precautionary measures due to anticipated heavy rainfall. This rain poses a risk of landslides, mudslides, and floods, particularly in mountainous regions where 14,000 people have been evacuated. Hundreds of flights were also canceled in Taiwan, and high-speed train services were reduced. Many cities declared a special holiday in anticipation of the severe weather. While the Philippines were not directly hit by Bavi, the typhoon-enhanced monsoon caused at least seventeen deaths due to landslides. The storm is forecast to reach Wenzhou, China, a port city of 10 million inhabitants, on Sunday morning local time, prompting the evacuation of 600,000 residents. Separately, tropical storm Maysak caused dozens of fatalities in southern China last week.