As Typhoon Bavi rapidly moves north toward the eastern coasts of Taiwan and China, tensions in the region are rising. Taiwan authorities, fearing flooding and wind damage, halted stock market transactions entirely, ordered school closures at all levels, and entered an emergency response posture. Although the typhoon's center will not pass directly over Taiwan, the prevailing view is that the vast radius of gale-force winds and torrential rain could cause large-scale flooding.
Based on major Bloomberg reports on the 10th (local time), the Taiwan government, preparing for Typhoon Bavi's landfall, closed government offices and schools and suspended the operation of the securities exchange that day. The U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center officially said Bavi is moving northwest at a steady pace toward China's eastern coast from waters 713 km south of Okinawa, Japan. The highest wind speed currently assessed is about 157 kph, comparable to a Category 2 hurricane in strength. An official at Taipei Taoyuan Airport, Taiwan's largest airport, said that to ensure passenger safety, major Taiwanese flag carriers including EVA Air, China Airlines, and Starlux Airlines have canceled all flights scheduled through the 11th.
Atmospheric G2, a specialist weather information provider, said, "Because the radius of gale-force winds brought by Bavi is so wide, northern Taiwan will experience very rough weather for some time even if the center remains over the sea," adding, "Even a slight track shift could greatly increase wind damage."
Typhoon Bavi is expected to graze precariously past waters east of Taiwan on the 10th and make landfall on China's Fujian coast on the night of the 11th. China's meteorological agency is strengthening its alert posture, forecasting that at landfall the top wind speed will reach 173 kph. China has already suffered major damage in many areas from recent torrential rains. Weather experts expected that, along with this typhoon's landfall, the hot, humid southwesterly monsoon will overlap, unleashing enormous rainfall again across broad inland regions of China.
Weather authorities forecast through the 12th record-shattering deluges of up to 600 mm in Zhejiang and Fujian in eastern China, and up to 350 mm in parts of Beijing and nearby Hebei.