Typhoon Bavi lashes Japan's southern islands, Taiwan evacuates thousands
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- Typhoon Bavi struck Japan's Sakishima island chain Saturday with maximum sustained winds of 144 kph (90 mph) and gusts reaching 198 kph, suspending all flights and ferry services on Ishigaki for the entire day.
- Taiwan's government evacuated more than 14,000 people from mountainous areas in the north and east, cancelled all 274 domestic flights plus 917 international flights, and declared a typhoon holiday across almost every city and county.
- Taiwan kept its north-south high-speed rail open at reduced service despite forecasts of nearly 1 metre (3.3 feet) of rain in some areas, with officials noting Bavi is gradually weakening and will not make landfall.
- After passing northeast of Taiwan, Bavi is forecast to hit the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, home to 10 million people, early Sunday.
- On Ishigaki, part of Okinawa prefecture, debris flew across empty streets and boats rocked in harbour currents, while 68-year-old Taipei resident Yeh Mao-hsiung, out walking his dog, dismissed the conditions as "just a little bit more wind."
Why it matters: With 10 million people in Wenzhou in Bavi's direct path for early Sunday, Taiwan's near-miss still cost 14,000+ evacuations and 1,191 flight cancellations — a reminder that even no-landfall storms paralyze transit-dependent economies. Ishigaki, a popular Japanese tourist hub, lost all flights and ferries Saturday as the storm passed through.
