Japan’s southwest islands brace for Typhoon Bavi as Taiwan readies for heavy rain

ISHIGAKI: A powerful typhoon was moving toward Japan’s remote Sakishima island chain on Friday, prompting warnings of violent winds, torrential rain, landslides and flooding in what authorities said could become the area’s most damaging storm in years.

By early Friday, Typhoon Bavi was nearing the islands in Japan’s southwest, close to Taiwan, with maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (100 mph). Residents were seen taping windows and securing homes and businesses with windproof netting as the storm approached. Airlines also cancelled dozens of flights in the region, including services scheduled for Saturday.

In Ishigaki, a tourist destination in the Sakishima chain, people rushed to buy supplies, with shelves of instant noodles cleared at a local supermarket. Some public beaches, coastal parks and the local ferry terminal also appeared to have shut down ahead of the storm.

Hiroshi Nomura, while putting up windproof nets at his bicycle rental shop, said he was worried about the scale of the storm.

I heard that this one will be pretty big

I'm a little concerned about whether our typhoon preparations are enough

Taiwan takes precautions

In Taiwan, financial markets were closed for the day, while a broad area in the north and east was also given time off work. Taipei’s city government set up collection points for sandbags as authorities prepared for heavy rainfall.

Although Bavi is not forecast to make landfall in Taiwan, it is expected to bring very heavy rain from late Friday, with some places likely to receive as much as one metre (3.3 feet). The government said more than 1,000 people had been evacuated, mainly from mountainous parts of the eastern coast. Nearly 29,000 military personnel were placed on standby to support relief operations.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Facebook that the storm had eased somewhat but still remained dangerous because of its size.

Although ⁠the typhoon has weakened slightly and has been downgraded to a moderate typhoon, its storm radius is large and it may still bring strong winds and heavy rain to many areas

Taiwan’s airlines cancelled all Saturday flights from Taoyuan, the main international airport outside Taipei. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, also said it was postponing the release of its June sales data from Friday until Monday.

China landfall forecast

Forecasts showed Bavi making landfall late on Saturday near the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, which has a population of 10 million.