Authorities in the Zhejiang province have evacuated more than 1.7 million people as of Saturday morning, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Shanghai, also on China’s eastern coast, relocated around 34,000 residents from high-risk areas by Saturday noon, according to Xinhua.
In southeastern China, cities near the coast are preparing for the impacts of Bavi. In the city of Ningde in Fujian province, more than 3,700 people were relocated from high-risk onshore areas as of Friday evening, Xinhua said. Authorities in Fujian province have placed over 17,000 emergency rescue workers on standby.
China’s National Meteorological Center issued an orange typhoon alert, the second-highest on a four-tier level, with many schools and ferry services suspended. Hundreds of flights have been canceled, and some high-speed railway services halted.
The center on Saturday also issued the first red alert for rainstorms of the year, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Chinese authorities said Saturday they have allocated 40 million yuan ($5.9 million) in central natural disaster relief funds to support Zhejiang and Fujian provinces’ typhoon prevention and emergency rescue and relief efforts.