MANILA — Landslides triggered by one of the strongest storms in decades have left at least 15 people dead and six others missing on the island of Mindanao in southern Philippines, as parts of East Asia brace themselves for the looming storm.Typhoon Bavi is expected to pound Taiwan’s north and east, as well as Japan’s remote southwestern islands, on Friday and Saturday before smashing into China, which has been hit by deadly storms this week.Typhoon Bavi, which spans 1,000km (620 miles) at its widest point – roughly the width of France – is sweeping across the Pacific towards Taiwan.It is expected to dump rain on Taiwan’s north and east, and on a chain of remote Japanese islands, before making landfall in south-eastern China on Saturday.Dozens of flights have been cancelled while schools have suspended classes across the region. Supermarket shelves have been wiped clean as residents stock up on supplies ahead of the typhoon.Locals in Taiwan’s port city of Keelung, which is expected to be one of the hardest hit areas on the island, stocked up on food, taped windows, and stacked sandbags along shop fronts, heeding warnings from authorities to take precautions.”They’re saying it’s going to be huge; of course that’s scary, right?” Keelung grocery store owner Chang Shih-huo, 76, told AFP.”We’ve stocked up on some instant noodles and bread and stuff like that. Once the wind and rain really start picking up, we’ll have to close the shop.”After hitting Guam and the Northern Marianas on Monday as a super typhoon, Bavi was downgraded to a typhoon as it moved across the Pacific Ocean.Bavi’s maximum sustained wind speeds slowed to 155 kilometres (96 miles) per hour, with gusts of around 190 kilometres per hour, on Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.”The typhoon is likely to continue weakening because environmental conditions are not favourable,” CWA forecaster Wang Ping-hsiang told AFP.”The greatest impact is expected in Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Yilan, while the heaviest rainfall is forecast for mountainous areas in central and northern Taiwan.”Bavi’s strong-wind radius of 380 kilometres will make it the largest typhoon to hit Taiwan in more than 30 years.On the Philippine island of Mindanao, families have been buried overnight by landslides, and rescuers are still searching for those missing.Moderate to heavy rains will continue to drench parts of the country throughout the weekend, officials say.Taiwanese authorities have warned that Bavi could bring up to 1m (39 inches) of rainfall. Some 29,000 soldiers have been put on standby to help with relief efforts, according to the island’s defence ministry.Farmers across the region rushed to harvest or protect their crops while the weather held earlier on Friday, while fishermen made sure to secure their vessels tightly.”Don’t be fooled by the nice and calm weather now. A storm like this could be the most terrifying,” 60-year-old fisherman Chen Ming-hui told Reuters.Across the strait, China has also warned of “significant impact” from the typhoon that could move northward after smashing into the south-eastern Fujian province.”Bavi’s large size and abundant energy mean its remnants and outer rainbands could move from Jiangsu and Anhui provinces toward the Bohai Sea region,” said Ma Jun, director of China’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs.The northern provinces, which have “less experience” dealing with typhoons in comparison with the south, should “strengthen preparations”, he warned.Some forecasts suggest Bavi could make landfall twice in China.In Japan, residents on the remote Sakishima Islands are also on high alert. Photographs shared online show some of them taping up windows and draping windproof nets across their homes and shops.Various airlines have grounded flights in the region. Japan Airlines, for instance, has axed more than 100 flights for Friday and Saturday, disrupting travel for nearly 20,000 passengers.All Nippon Airways, another Japanese carrier, has canceled more than 160 flights through Sunday, also affecting about 20,000 people, according to Reuters.Thai Airways and Malaysia Airlines have also grounded flights to and from Taipei.Parts of southern China are still reeling from the devastation brought by Typhoon Maysak earlier this week.Maysak left at least 39 people dead, with rescuers still combing through wreckage for missing people. More than 130,000 were evacuated, mostly in the Guangxi region.Maysak killed large swathes of livestock and resulted in massive agriculture loss. It also spurred two rare tornadoes in the central Hubei province.MANILA — Landslides triggered by one of the strongest storms in decades have left at least 15 people dead and six others missing on the island of Mindanao in southern Philippines, as parts of East Asia brace themselves for the looming storm.Typhoon Bavi is expected to pound Taiwan’s north and east, as well as Japan’s remote southwestern islands, on Friday and Saturday before smashing into China, which has been hit by deadly storms this week.Typhoon Bavi, which spans 1,000km (620 miles) at its widest point – roughly the width of France – is sweeping across the Pacific towards Taiwan.It is expected to dump rain on Taiwan’s north and east, and on a chain of remote Japanese islands, before making landfall in south-eastern China on Saturday.Dozens of flights have been cancelled while schools have suspended classes across the region. Supermarket shelves have been wiped clean as residents stock up on supplies ahead of the typhoon.Locals in Taiwan’s port city of Keelung, which is expected to be one of the hardest hit areas on the island, stocked up on food, taped windows, and stacked sandbags along shop fronts, heeding warnings from authorities to take precautions.”They’re saying it’s going to be huge; of course that’s scary, right?” Keelung grocery store owner Chang Shih-huo, 76, told AFP.”We’ve stocked up on some instant noodles and bread and stuff like that. Once the wind and rain really start picking up, we’ll have to close the shop.”After hitting Guam and the Northern Marianas on Monday as a super typhoon, Bavi was downgraded to a typhoon as it moved across the Pacific Ocean.Bavi’s maximum sustained wind speeds slowed to 155 kilometres (96 miles) per hour, with gusts of around 190 kilometres per hour, on Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.”The typhoon is likely to continue weakening because environmental conditions are not favourable,” CWA forecaster Wang Ping-hsiang told AFP.”The greatest impact is expected in Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Yilan, while the heaviest rainfall is forecast for mountainous areas in central and northern Taiwan.”Bavi’s strong-wind radius of 380 kilometres will make it the largest typhoon to hit Taiwan in more than 30 years.On the Philippine island of Mindanao, families have been buried overnight by landslides, and rescuers are still searching for those missing.Moderate to heavy rains will continue to drench parts of the country throughout the weekend, officials say.Taiwanese authorities have warned that Bavi could bring up to 1m (39 inches) of rainfall. Some 29,000 soldiers have been put on standby to help with relief efforts, according to the island’s defence ministry.Farmers across the region rushed to harvest or protect their crops while the weather held earlier on Friday, while fishermen made sure to secure their vessels tightly.”Don’t be fooled by the nice and calm weather now. A storm like this could be the most terrifying,” 60-year-old fisherman Chen Ming-hui told Reuters.Across the strait, China has also warned of “significant impact” from the typhoon that could move northward after smashing into the south-eastern Fujian province.”Bavi’s large size and abundant energy mean its remnants and outer rainbands could move from Jiangsu and Anhui provinces toward the Bohai Sea region,” said Ma Jun, director of China’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs.The northern provinces, which have “less experience” dealing with typhoons in comparison with the south, should “strengthen preparations”, he warned.Some forecasts suggest Bavi could make landfall twice in China.In Japan, residents on the remote Sakishima Islands are also on high alert. Photographs shared online show some of them taping up windows and draping windproof nets across their homes and shops.Various airlines have grounded flights in the region. Japan Airlines, for instance, has axed more than 100 flights for Friday and Saturday, disrupting travel for nearly 20,000 passengers.All Nippon Airways, another Japanese carrier, has canceled more than 160 flights through Sunday, also affecting about 20,000 people, according to Reuters.Thai Airways and Malaysia Airlines have also grounded flights to and from Taipei.Parts of southern China are still reeling from the devastation brought by Typhoon Maysak earlier this week.Maysak left at least 39 people dead, with rescuers still combing through wreckage for missing people. More than 130,000 were evacuated, mostly in the Guangxi region.Maysak killed large swathes of livestock and resulted in massive agriculture loss. It also spurred two rare tornadoes in the central Hubei province.
East Asia braces for destructive typhoon as landslides kill 15 in Philippines
