Typhoon Bavi made landfall in eastern China's Zhejiang province late Saturday, triggering widespread flash-flood warnings and mass evacuations [1, 2, 3].
The scale of the displacement reflects the severe risk posed by the storm's intensity. High winds and torrential rain threatened to cause landslides and sudden flooding in densely populated coastal regions, forcing authorities to move millions of residents to safety.
Emergency responders focused their efforts on the city of Taizhou and surrounding areas of Zhejiang [1, 3]. The storm brought maximum sustained wind speeds of 144 kph [1]. These conditions created a high risk of structural damage and life-threatening flooding across the province [1, 2].
Reports on the total number of displaced residents vary by source. WION said over 1.7 million people were evacuated [1], while CBC said the number was more than 1.8 million [2]. Reuters, via Yahoo News, provided the highest estimate, reporting that nearly 2 million people were moved from their homes [3].
The landfall occurred on July 11, 2024 [3]. Local officials issued alerts for flash floods as the storm moved inland, urging residents to remain in shelters until the weather stabilized [1, 2].
Chinese authorities continued to monitor the storm's path as it transitioned from the coast. The coordinated effort to clear coastal zones was intended to minimize casualties from the storm's peak winds and the subsequent rain-induced landslides [1, 2, 3].
“nearly 2 million people were moved from their homes”
The evacuation of up to 2 million people underscores the high vulnerability of Zhejiang's coastal infrastructure to extreme weather. The discrepancy in evacuation numbers across reporting agencies suggests a rapidly evolving situation where local data was being updated in real-time as the storm progressed.
