China evacuated more than 1.8 million people Saturday as Typhoon Bavi barreled toward the major eastern city of Wenzhou after lashing Japan's southern Sakishima island chain with torrential rain and destructive winds while skirting northern Taiwan.
Although Bavi is gradually slowing and weakening as it moves northwest over cooler waters, the storm remains a serious threat because of the immense amount of moisture packed into its rain bands, which stretch roughly the length of France from end to end.
Bavi had maximum sustained winds of 144 kph (90 mph), equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and was about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southeast of Wenling in the eastern province of Zhejiang as of 8:08 a.m. GMT, according to the National Meteorological Center.
Bavi is forecast to make landfall around Wenzhou, home to about 10 million people, early Sunday.
State media said more than 1.7 million people had been evacuated across Zhejiang province, where Wenzhou is located, and more than 100,000 in neighboring Fujian province.
