China is preparing for the landfall of Typhoon Bavi in eastern Zhejiang province on Saturday, July 11 [1].

The storm's arrival follows a period of intense activity in the region, marking the second typhoon to threaten the area in a single week. This sequence of storms increases the risk of catastrophic flooding and infrastructure failure in densely populated coastal hubs.

Authorities have ordered large-scale evacuations in the city of Wenzhou and surrounding coastal areas [2]. Reports on the scale of the displacement vary, with some sources citing hundreds of thousands of evacuees [3], while other reports said at least 600,000 people have already been moved to safety [4].

Typhoon Bavi is a massive weather system, reaching a maximum width of 1,000 kilometres [4]. Before moving toward the Chinese coast, the storm caused significant devastation in the Philippines, where 17 people died [4].

Local officials in Zhejiang province are implementing coastal preparations to mitigate the impact of strong winds, heavy rain, and dangerous storm surges [2]. These elements are expected to cause widespread damage to property and agriculture upon landfall [2].

Earlier this week, the storm's trajectory also prompted warnings in Taiwan and Japan's southern islands as the system moved across the Pacific [5]. The current focus remains on the eastern coast of China, where the storm is expected to make impact this Saturday [1].

“At least 600,000 people have already been evacuated”

The rapid succession of two typhoons within one week suggests a period of extreme atmospheric instability in the East China Sea. For the Zhejiang province, this creates a compounding disaster scenario where saturated soil from the first storm increases the likelihood of landslides and severe flooding during Bavi's landfall, potentially overwhelming local drainage systems and emergency response capacities.