Japan’s southwestern islands brace for Typhoon Bavi as Taiwan evacuates

Typhoon Bavi closed in on Japan’s Sakishima Islands on Friday with maximum sustained winds of 162 kph, sending residents on Ishigaki to tape up windows and drape windproof nets across homes and shops. Local authorities warned of violent winds, torrential rain, landslides and flooding as airlines cancelled dozens of flights in the region, including Saturday services.

On Ishigaki, a popular tourist destination and home to a Japanese army base, public beaches, coastal parks and the local ferry terminal were shut as residents stocked up on supplies. Shelves of instant noodles were emptied at a local supermarket while the island prepared for the storm’s expected Saturday arrival. The Japan Meteorological Agency’s Typhoon Center tracked the system as it moved past Japan’s southwestern edge toward Taiwan and eastern China.

Taiwan moved quickly as the storm’s outer bands approached. Financial markets closed for the day, Taipei set up sandbag-collection stations, and more than 1,000 people had been evacuated, mainly from the mountainous eastern coast. Nearly 29,000 military personnel were on standby for disaster relief, and Taiwan’s airlines canceled all Saturday flights from Taoyuan International Airport. TSMC also delayed the release of its June sales data from Friday to Monday.

Bavi had initial winds of 135 knots and a gale-force wind field more than 500 nautical miles across. The system was expected to remain at super-typhoon intensity for at least the next 24 hours over warm seas, with parts of Taiwan forecast to receive as much as one metre of rain. Late Saturday, the storm was forecast to make landfall around Wenzhou, China, a city of about 10 million people, after passing southeast of Taiwan with winds easing to just under 200 kph.