Tropical Storm Bavi slammed into eastern China after authorities evacuated nearly two million people from vulnerable coastal regions, Reuters and the Associated Press reported on Sunday. Although the weather system weakened from a typhoon before making landfall, it brought torrential rains and violent winds across multiple provinces. Official meteorological reports indicate that Bavi is the strongest storm to strike the Chinese mainland this year, making landfall in Yuhuan city within Zhejiang province just before midnight on Saturday.
The massive storm system, which forecasters described as roughly the size of France, made a second consecutive landfall in the densely populated coastal city of Yueqing in Wenzhou district. Local residents reported that the intense winds shattered roof tiles and snapped tree branches, causing extensive structural damage to residential compounds within hours. State broadcaster CCTV reported that more than 1,300 trees were felled in Yueqing alone, with half of them completely uprooted from the soil, leaving urban streets blocked by debris.
The National Meteorological Center of China recorded maximum sustained winds of 101 kilometers per hour early on Sunday morning as the core of the storm moved inland. Forecasters issued urgent warnings that the system would continue to unleash heavy downpours across eastern and northern provinces over the coming days, raising risks of flash floods. Emergency response teams utilized specialized machinery and chainsaws to clear waterlogged streets, where floodwaters had already risen to half the height of standard vehicle tires.
The severe weather conditions caused widespread disruption across the extensive transport network of eastern China, stranding tens of thousands of passengers. Two major railway hubs in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, suspended all inbound and outbound operations, while 327 flights were canceled at Xiaoshan International Airport. In the neighboring commercial metropolis of Shanghai, local transport bureaus canceled 684 commercial flights and more than 1,600 scheduled train trips, according to state-backed media outlet The Paper.
What remains unclear is the exact economic valuation of the damage caused to the agricultural sector, particularly regarding submersed farmlands in Wenzhou. By Sunday afternoon, the center of Storm Bavi had crossed into Anhui province, located northwest of its initial landing site, showing signs of further structural weakening. The National Meteorological Center projected that the weather system will continue its trajectory toward the northeast, eventually moving into the Yellow Sea by Tuesday morning.
