Worried residents in China are preparing for Super Typhoon Bavi to land, stocking up on supplies and rethinking travel plans.
Satellite imagery from China’s official weather forecaster shows Bavi covering nearly 940,000 sq km (363,000 square miles) – an area about nine times the size of the eastern province of Zhejiang or 850 times that of Hong Kong.
Hui Xinyi, a high school English tutor in the Zhejiang capital of Hangzhou, is among those constantly refreshing weather apps and scrolling through social media for updates.
“Whether it will actually make landfall here or just brush past is still up in the air. It’s this uncertainty that makes people really panic,” she said.
Living on the 25th floor of a high-rise building, Hui plans to tape her windows and stock up on instant food and bottled water in case strong winds cause power or water shortages. She said disruptions might force her to move her classes online or postpone them altogether.
Tang Wanmei, a resident of Suzhou in neighbouring Jiangsu province, was also closely monitoring the typhoon’s path. She is scheduled to fly from nearby Shanghai to Yunnan province in the southwest on Monday and is worried that the storm could derail her travel plans.
“My biggest concern now is whether my flight from Shanghai will be cancelled,” she said.
Her worry is widely shared. On the Chinese social media platform RedNote, many users expressed concern about the cost of changing flights and hotel reservations, while others said airlines had yet to announce whether flights would be affected.
In Shanghai, strong wind and rain on Thursday were accompanied by a slight drop in temperature. From Friday, the city is expected to be affected by outer layers of the typhoon, with increasing wind and scattered showers.
Bavi had weakened slightly on Thursday morning but still maintained super typhoon status, the National Meteorological Centre said.
It was forecast to move northwest at up to 20km/h (12mph), making landfall in or brushing past Taiwan on Saturday before closing in on Fujian or Zhejiang province, where it could bring heavy rainfall of up to 40cm (15.7 inches).
The forecaster urged the public not to focus solely on the super typhoon’s point of landfall, warning that extreme rainfall would impact a much wider region.
On Thursday morning, the centre upgraded its typhoon alert to orange, the second-highest level on a four-tier system.
Flight schedules across the region have been severely disrupted. Hong Kong Airlines cancelled flights between Hong Kong and Okinawa and Taipei for Friday and Saturday, while Greater Bay Airlines cancelled its Hong Kong-Taipei and Hong Kong-Zhoushan services.
Airlines operating out of Taiwan cancelled or rescheduled dozens of flights as weather authorities prepared to issue warnings. The island’s Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning on Thursday afternoon, with a land warning expected early on Friday.
Taipei’s China Airlines announced widespread disruptions, bringing forward one Taoyuan-Okinawa service on Thursday before cancelling all Taoyuan-Okinawa and Kaohsiung-Okinawa flights on Friday. The carrier also cancelled all departures from Taoyuan to North America, Europe and Australia scheduled after 6pm on Friday.
Tigerair Taiwan adjusted several Japan flights on Thursday, bringing forward its Taoyuan-Okinawa and Okinawa-Kaohsiung services while delaying round-trip flights between Taoyuan and Nagoya.
Taipei’s Starlux Airlines warned that flights between July 9 and July 12 could be delayed, rescheduled or cancelled because of the storm, urging passengers to check the latest flight information before travelling.
Thai VietJet Air cancelled four services linking Bangkok, Taoyuan and Okinawa scheduled for Friday, while China Southern Airlines scrapped several Taiwan routes on Friday and Saturday, including flights between Taipei and Wuhan, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhengzhou.
Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau said most ferry services to offshore islands would be suspended on Friday and Saturday because of rough seas, while its Highway Bureau planned to close the Tamkang Bridge on Friday, as wind speeds were expected to reach a severe Force 10.
Residents across Taiwan rushed to stock up on emergency supplies ahead of the typhoon’s arrival.
The storm’s indirect impact will also be felt in northern mainland China. Officials in Beijing announced an emergency response on Thursday afternoon – suspending school, sporting events and hazardous outdoor activities while encouraging residents to work from home.
On Wednesday night, authorities in the Taishan tourist spot in eastern Shandong province announced a temporary closure of the scenic mountainous area, urging hikers to descend as soon as possible. They said severe weather was expected, including thunderstorms, strong winds, hail, tornadoes and short-term heavy rainfall.
In the south, people continued to deal with the aftermath of Typhoon Maysak, in which 39 people died and nine remain missing in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, according to authorities in the provincial capital Nanning on Thursday.
Landslides, floods, strong rainstorms and tornadoes have led to deaths across China since the annual flood season began on July 1, with meteorologists warning the country faces “complex” disaster prevention challenges this year.
A zoo in Guangxi has lost more than 100 animals in the flooding, with the zookeeper appealing for public help on social media.
According to an official notice issued on Wednesday, two zebras, 30 peacocks, two ostriches, nine deer and multiple parrots were among the animals lost when some of the cages at the Guigang Zoo were damaged.
“To ensure public safety and that of those animals, we implore the public to provide tips to assist in finding them,” the zoo said. “Please keep a safe distance, as some animals, including ostriches and raccoons, can attack in fear.”
At least one zebra survived the deluge, appearing momentarily at a nearby village, according to a post on social media. It was unclear whether the animal had been captured since.
Zookeeper Wang Liyuan told local media that when the flooding hit on Monday, staff secured all carnivores in their enclosures to prevent them from escaping and harming the public. However, three lions have since been confirmed to have drowned.
More than 20 species of herbivores were lost and the zoo suffered an estimated loss of 4 million yuan (US$588,000), Wang said in an interview published on Thursday. The article included an image of multiple collapsed cages and snapped trees at the zoo, all covered in mud.
Elsewhere in the city of Guigang, more than 12,000 teachers and students were stranded in school buildings by the floodwaters. They were being rescued by boat, state broadcaster CCTV said on Wednesday night. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
