Bavi weakens, but impact to be severe

Typhoon Bavi has weakened but will still bring heavy rainfall across a wide swath of China as it is expected to hit the country's southeastern coast on Saturday evening, triggering flight and ferry cancellations, train suspensions and heightened precautions against geological disasters.

The National Meteorological Centre said on Friday that the intensity of Bavi has been downgraded from super typhoon to severe typhoon on Thursday evening and further lowered to the typhoon status, with wind speeds at its center dropping to 144 kilometers per hour.

Bavi is expected to maintain its current power and make landfall from Wenling in Zhejiang province to Xiapu in Fujian province in the early hours of Sunday, before moving northwestward and gradually losing strength.

"Current forecasts suggest Bavi is unlikely to regain a super typhoon status, but it remains massive in size — spanning about 1,500 km at its widest point — and packs vigorous convection, so its impact should not be underestimated," the center said.

The typhoon is forecast to unleash downpours across more than 10 provincial-level regions, including not only southern and eastern provinces but also the provinces of Hubei, Henan, Hebei and Liaoning, as well as Beijing and Tianjin, in northern and central China.

From Friday to Sunday, rainfall of 150 to 300 millimeters is forecast in parts of Zhejiang and Fujian, with some areas likely to receive up to 600 mm.

In Zhejiang, railway operators have announced train service suspensions from Saturday to Tuesday and are offering full refunds, while airports in the provincial capital Hangzhou, as well as in Wenzhou and Zhoushan, have canceled flights. Scenic spots, waterway projects and ferry routes have also been closed.

Authorities in Fujian have suspended ferry services and halted operations at 14 offshore wind farms and all waterway projects. Tourist attractions in the provincial capital Fuzhou have all been closed since Friday afternoon.

China's national marine forecast center on Friday issued a red alert for massive waves and a blue alert for storm surges. In China's four-tier warning system, red is the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

As of Saturday morning, the center said that the nearshore areas of Zhejiang and the northern parts of Fujian are forecast to be hit by waves five to seven meters high, and in southern Fujian, waves of three to four meters are expected, while Shanghai's nearshore waters will see 2.5 to 3.5 meters of swells.

In addition, coastal areas from Ningbo in Zhejiang to Zhangzhou in Fujian are expected to see storms surge 50 to 120 centimeters above normal tidal levels during this period.

In response to Bavi's approach, both the Ministry of Emergency Management and the Ministry of Natural Resources have activated a Level-III emergency response — the second lowest in the four-tier system — for geological disasters in Zhejiang and Fujian, and have dispatched on-site working groups.

As Bavi has channeled substantial moisture northward and the southwest monsoon continues to exert influence, Beijing and neighboring Hebei are on high alert for heavy rainfall from Friday through the weekend.

In Beijing, seven of the city's 16 districts have issued a red alert for heavy rain — the highest warning level.

Authorities have also activated a Level-IV emergency response for geological disasters in Beijing and Hebei. High-risk zones have been identified in parts of northeastern and southwestern Beijing, as well as in central and northeastern Hebei.