Typhoon Bavi weakens but still lashes China with strong winds, rain

Typhoon Bavi weakened Sunday to a tropical storm hours after making landfall in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, but was still bringing days of strong winds and heavy rain to parts of China.

Its intensity continued to weaken as it moved northwestward across eastern China into the province of Anhui, according to China’s national weather center.

Strong winds and heavy rain are expected to impact many eastern and northeastern Chinese cities on Sunday and Monday, China’s National Meteorological Center said, adding that heavy to torrential rain was recorded Sunday afternoon in provinces including Anhui.

In Zhejiang province, more than 2.2 million people were evacuated due to Bavi, according to state media. Shanghai evacuated over 290,000 people from at-risk areas, while Fujian province evacuated more than 180,000 people.

In the coastal city of Yueqing in Zhejiang province, more than 1,300 trees were toppled, including at least 700 uprooted, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport and Hongqiao International Airport were expected to cancel around 653 inbound and outbound flights due to Bavi, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Bavi passed north of Taiwan on Saturday but did not make a direct landfall. Taiwan’s fire department said at least 134 people across the island were injured, some sustaining injuries while riding motorcycles or bicycles in strong winds or due to slippery road surfaces.

When Bavi initially made landfall Monday over a small U.S. island territory in the western Pacific Ocean, near Guam, the storm was considered a “super typhoon,” according to the National Weather Service. It brought extremely strong winds and torrential rain to the Northern Mariana Islands, which were still recovering from another powerful super typhoon that struck the region in the spring.

Even as a tropical storm, Bavi could continue to wreak havoc. As CBS partner BBC News reported, the system is massive, spanning about 620 miles at its widest point, and the sheer amount of moisture it carries will pose ongoing risks to places along its path.