East Asia Prepares For Powerful Typhoon After Landslides Kill 15 In Philippines

Typhoon Bavi, a behemoth of a storm some 1,000 kilometres wide, is charging through the Pacific, and East Asia is on total alert. It is on track to be the largest tropical storm in physical size to threaten the region since 1987. The violent outer bands of the typhoon have already wreaked havoc in the Philippines, even as its eye continues to churn out at sea, with several countries to the north rushing to prepare for a direct hit.

Tragedy in Philippines

The storm’s first collateral damage was most severe on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Bavi brought torrential rains that triggered massive landslides, burying entire families overnight.

At least 15 people were confirmed dead and 6 others were still missing under the mud, disaster management officials said. Emergency response teams are digging through debris at a war footing, but heavy weekend rain is making the rescue operation extremely dangerous.

Path of the Storm

Bavi has lost some of its “super typhoon” status after passing Guam, but it is still packing maximum sustained winds of 155 km/h with scary gusts up to 190 km/h.

Taiwan: Weather officials warn the island braces for its most destructive test in nearly four decades. In some areas forecasters are calling for as much as a full metre (39 inches) of rain to fall. The capital, Taipei, has closed all its schools; flights to major hubs have been wiped off the boards, and the Defence Ministry has put 29,000 soldiers on active standby for disaster relief.

Japan: Bavi is screaming right over a string of remote southwestern Japanese islands, including Ishigaki, with violent, blinding downpours and dangerous sea conditions before the storm turns further west.

China: A direct hit is forecast for the southeast coast of China, near the heavily industrialised border of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. It is an incredibly stressful scenario for the country already reeling from an unrelated string of severe storms earlier in the week that claimed 50 lives. More than 17,000 people have already been evacuated from coastal danger areas, and 170,000 rescue workers have been put on high alert in preparation.

What’s happening right now: Local coastal markets from Keelung to Fujian have removed water, instant noodles and bread from shelves. Farmers are desperately pulling crops out of the ground prematurely, while fleets of thousands of fishing vessels have been ordered back to port to tie their boats together in a frantic bid to ride out the incoming waves.