Typhoon Bavi made landfall in eastern China's Zhejiang province late Saturday night, July 12, 2026 [1, 4].

The scale of the evacuation reflects the severity of the storm's potential impact on one of China's most populous coastal regions. With wind speeds around 144 km/h at landfall [5], the storm threatened critical infrastructure and residential areas near the city of Wenzhou [2, 3].

Authorities coordinated a massive movement of citizens to avoid the worst of the storm's surge. While reports on the total number of displaced people vary, some sources state more than two million people were evacuated [3], while others cite more than 1.8 million [2] or nearly two million [1].

"Nearly 2 million people were evacuated as Typhoon Bavi struck eastern China, bringing powerful winds, heavy rain and ..." a reporter for Khaosod English said [1].

The storm brought intense precipitation and strong winds to the region. Officials warned that the danger did not end with landfall, as the risk of continued flooding remained high across the province [1, 2].

"China evacuated more than 1.8 million people on Saturday as Typhoon Bavi churned toward the major eastern city of Wenzhou," a reporter for CBC said [2].

Emergency crews remained on alert as the system moved inland. The coordinated effort to clear coastal zones was designed to minimize casualties from storm surges and flash floods, a recurring challenge for the Zhejiang coastline during the typhoon season [2, 3].

"More than 2 million people were evacuated after Typhoon Bavi made landfall in Zhejiang province," a reporter for The Star said [3].

“More than 2 million people were evacuated after Typhoon Bavi made landfall in Zhejiang province.”

The rapid evacuation of approximately two million people demonstrates China's high-capacity mobilization for disaster response in the Zhejiang province. The discrepancy in evacuation numbers across reports suggests a fluid situation during the peak of the storm's movement. The focus on flood warnings after landfall indicates that the primary risk has shifted from wind damage to inland water management.