Super Typhoon Bavi: Taiwan, China and Japan brace for giant storm as wide as France

China, Taiwan and Japan braced for what may be the most destructive tropical storm in years as Super Typhoon Bavi, a storm roughly the width of France at about 1,000km, churned toward the region with winds near 200km/h.Satellite imagery shows Bavi covers nearly 940,000 sq km, an area about nine times the size of China’s Zhejiang province or 850 times Hong Kong’s land area. The storm is forecast to skirt northern Taiwan before making landfall in China’s eastern Fujian province on July 11, according to China’s National Meteorological Centre.Jason Chang, a forecaster at Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, said storms of this size have been “fairly rare in recent years” and that Bavi is set to be the largest storm by size to hit the island since 1987.

Taiwan braces for storm

Taiwan authorities forecast up to 1 meter of rain will hit northern mountains around Taipei. Some 29,000 soldiers have been placed on standby as Taiwan prepares for what could be its most powerful typhoon since Kong-rey in 2024.In the northeastern port town of Suao, hundreds of fishing boats packed the harbour seeking shelter. Residents queued for sandbags and farmers rushed to harvest rice while the weather held. “Don’t be fooled by the nice and calm weather now. A storm like this could be the most terrifying,” said Chen Ming-hui, a 60-year-old fishing captain inspecting ropes on his boat.

Japan prepares for typhoon

In Japan, the powerful typhoon is expected to come close to Okinawa Prefecture’s Sakishima Islands from Friday through Saturday while maintaining its strength. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of violent winds, with gusts potentially reaching 180 km/h on Friday and 252 km/h on Saturday, strong enough to knock down houses.Rainfall of 50 millimeters per hour is forecast on the Sakishima Islands from Friday, with precipitation during the 24 hours from Friday noon to Saturday noon reaching up to 300 millimeters. Rough seas exceeding 10 meters are expected, and storm surges may flood coastal areas in Okinawa.

China still recovering from deadly Typhoon Maysak

Rescue workers in China were still combing through wreckage left by Typhoon Maysak, which killed at least 39 people as it swept through Guangxi region earlier this week, local officials said. Nine people remained missing. Most deaths, 26, were in Hengzhou, where the partial collapse of a reservoir dam sent torrents of water into the city.In Guangxi, three lions died at Guigang Zoo after floodwaters inundated the facility, while more than 100 animals, including zebras, ostriches, peacocks and raccoons, escaped when cages were damaged. More than 12,000 teachers and students were trapped in school buildings by floodwaters and evacuated by boat.

Flights cancelled across region

Japan Airlines cancelled 48 domestic and two international flights scheduled for July 10, affecting about 7,610 passengers. All Nippon Airways cancelled 34 flights serving Okinawa, affecting around 1,800 passengers, with 33 more domestic flights set to be cancelled on July 11.China’s National Meteorological Centre upgraded its typhoon alert to orange, the second-highest level, on Thursday morning. Residents in eastern provinces rushed to stock up on supplies and tape windows as the storm approached.Taiwan’s main international airport has also cancelled all their Saturday flights due to Typhoon Bavi.