[Quick News] Typhoon Bavi Makes Landfall Twice, Weakens as It Moves Inland

Typhoon Bavi churned ashore twice overnight in neighboring Zhejiang Province and has already weakened to severe tropical storm strength.

But Shanghai isn't out of the woods yet – forecasters said strong winds, not rain, remain the main concern today.

Two landfalls, fast weakening

Bavi first made landfall around 11:20pm yesterday near Kanmen, in Yuhuan, Taizhou, in neighboring Zhejiang, with sustained winds of 40 meters per second, or force 13 – strong enough to uproot trees, rip off roof tiles and knock people off their feet.

It came ashore again just before midnight near Qingjiang, in Yueqing, Wenzhou, still at force 13 but slightly weaker, at 38 meters per second.

By 5am today, Bavi had weakened to severe tropical storm strength, centered over Yiwu, in Jinhua, Zhejiang, with peripheral winds down to force 11 – still capable of snapping branches and toppling weaker structures.

China's national weather bureau issued three warnings at once at 6am: a yellow typhoon alert, the second-lowest of the nation's four-tier system (blue, yellow, orange, red), an orange rainstorm alert and a yellow severe convective weather alert.

Bavi is expected to keep weakening as it moves northwest at 20-25 km/h, turning northeast over eastern Anhui Province on Monday, then crossing Shandong Province into the Yellow Sea on Tuesday, where it will become an extratropical system.

Wind still the bigger worry

Shanghai's meteorological bureau is urging residents not to let their guard down. Today brings cloudy skies with scattered showers, heavy enough to reach storm-level totals.

- Southeast wind at force 8-10 citywide – strong enough to make walking difficult and send unsecured objects flying.

- Force 9-11 along the coast and rivers – where standing without support gets hard and tree limbs can snap.

- Winds shift south to southeast tonight, easing to force 7, gusting 8-9; coastal areas force 8, gusting 9-10.

Highs today reach 31 degrees Celsius, with lows dropping to around 28 degrees Celsius by tomorrow morning.

Nearly 300,000 evacuated

As of 9pm yesterday, Shanghai had evacuated 299,700 people from at-risk coastal areas, including Pudong, Fengxian and Jinshan, plus the Lingang New Area. The city has opened 905 emergency shelters.

Water authorities pre-drained the city's rivers and drainage network ahead of the storm, freeing more than 450 million cubic meters of capacity – equivalent to roughly 180,000 standard swimming pools – to absorb the rain.

Nearly 30 percent of flights cut today

Shanghai's two airports have canceled a total of 653 flights today – 458 at Pudong, 195 at Hongqiao – cutting almost 30 percent of scheduled traffic. Airport officials advise checking directly with your airline before heading out.