A powerful typhoon was heading toward China’s east coast Friday, continuing a series of deadly storms that have already claimed 50 lives this week in two other parts of the country.
Typhoon Bavi, which has maximum sustained winds of 162 kilometers (101 miles) per hour, was initially expected to pass north of Taiwan, bringing heavy rains to the island of 23 million people from Friday night into Saturday.
Schools were closed in Taipei, the island’s capital, on Friday, and fishing boats have been moored closely together in ports in northern Taiwan. Many flights to Japan, Hong Kong, and other destinations were canceled through Saturday, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, though some remained scheduled.
The typhoon's current northwest track is projected to pass over some remote Japanese islands before moving north of Taiwan on Saturday. It is forecast to make landfall Saturday night south of Shanghai, near the border between Fujian and Zhejiang provinces.
More than 17,000 people have been evacuated in Zhejiang, and 170,000 rescue workers are on standby, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Fujian has suspended certain ferry routes due to strong winds and rough seas and has urged fishing boats to return to port.
Bavi has weakened from supertyphoon strength earlier this week when it brought violent winds to Saipan and other U.S. territories in the Pacific.
In southern China, authorities announced Thursday that 39 people died from flooding caused by Tropical Storm Maysak, which drenched parts of the Guangxi region for several days with record rainfall.
The rains breached reservoirs, including the significant collapse of part of a dam in Hengzhou, which flooded a wide area with fast-flowing muddy water. The floods left people stranded on second and higher floors of buildings for days, many without power, until rescuers could reach them.
Additionally, 11 people died in central China when severe thunderstorms and tornadoes caused damage in Hubei province on Monday night.
Separately, a landslide killed 21 forestry workers in western China’s Gansu province on Tuesday in an incident unrelated to storms.