Typhoon Bavi moves toward Taiwan as China braces for landfall

BEIJING — Typhoon Bavi churned southeast of Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, with maximum sustained winds easing overnight to just under 200 kph (124 mph), as authorities urged residents to stock up on essential supplies and prepare for what could become the strongest typhoon to strike the region since 2024.

The storm, spanning about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) at its widest point—roughly the width of France—is forecast to pass north of Taiwan before making landfall in China's eastern Fujian province on Saturday evening, according to China's National Meteorological Centre.

Taiwan's Central Weather Administration said Bavi is expected to be the largest typhoon by size to affect the island since 1987. Forecaster Jason Chang told Reuters that storms of this scale have become increasingly rare in recent years.

China, Taiwan, and neighboring Japan have faced a growing number of extreme weather events that scientists say are linked to climate change. Meteorologists have also warned that the expected development of El Niño this year could raise ocean temperatures, creating conditions that support stronger and more frequent typhoons.

If Bavi maintains its projected strength, it would become the most powerful typhoon in the Asia-Pacific region since Super Typhoon Kong-rey in 2024, according to commercial forecasting service AccuWeather.

AccuWeather international forecasting expert Jason Nicholls said the storm is expected to weaken slightly beginning Thursday but will remain dangerous as it approaches Taiwan and eastern China from Friday through Monday.

Japan's Meteorological Agency also warned residents in Okinawa, the country's southernmost prefecture, to remain on high alert through Friday and Saturday for destructive winds, landslides, flooding, and storm surges.

In Taiwan, President Lai Ching-te urged residents in a Facebook post to prepare emergency supplies, including food, flashlights, and other essentials. He also shared a video demonstrating how to assemble an emergency grab bag capable of sustaining a person for up to three days.

Xiangbo Feng, a tropical cyclone research scientist at Imperial College London, said Bavi has spent an extended period intensifying over the open Pacific Ocean, drawing energy from warm waters and accumulating significant moisture.

He warned that the storm could cause catastrophic damage if it makes landfall or passes close to coastal areas, adding that even a slight shift in its track could significantly affect the areas impacted. -Reporting by Joe Cash and Xiuhao Chen in Beijing, Yimou Lee in Taipei & Mariko Katsumura in Tokyo; Editing by Michael Perry/Reuters