Typhoon Bavi Batters China, Injures 134 in Taiwan

Rescue teams on China's east coast used excavators and chainsaws on Sunday to clear streets littered with fallen trees, hours after Typhoon Bavi, the strongest storm to hit the country this year, made landfall.

Typhoon Bavi, which had moved inland by morning and triggered landslides and flooding in some areas, had weakened to tropical storm strength. Meteorologists warned that the storm system, roughly the size of France, could bring prolonged and widespread rainfall to eastern and northern China.

Before Typhoon Bavi made landfall, nearly two million people were evacuated, most of them in Zhejiang Province, the economic and technological hub of the world's second-largest economy.

Bavi made landfall Saturday at around 11:20 p.m. (3:20 p.m. GMT) in the coastal city of Yuhuan, Zhejiang Province, and made a second landfall around midnight in Yueqing, part of the greater Wenzhou metropolitan area.

As Typhoon Bavi approached China on Saturday, it passed north of Taiwan, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to most of the island. In one area of northern Miaoli County, the storm brought nearly 80 cm of rainfall.

Taiwan's fire department reported Sunday that 134 people were injured, mainly from falling off motorcycles, slipping, or colliding with objects. No fatalities were reported. The ministry of transportation said 137 international flights and 62 domestic flights were canceled on Sunday.

(Reuters, im)