Nearly two million people have fled their homes in China as an approaching typhoon lashed northern Taiwan and Japan's remote southwestern islands on Saturday, toppling trees and leaving tens of thousands without power.
Extreme weather has already wreaked havoc on southern and central China this week, with storms leaving at least 39 dead and causing dozens of rivers to overflow and a reservoir dam to burst.
Typhoon Bavi is expected to make landfall early on Sunday in the eastern province of Zhejiang, where more than 1.7 million people have been evacuated from their homes, state media reported.
Classes, work, transport and outdoor activities have been suspended, and more than 400 flights and dozens of train services cancelled in the province.
"The proactive, all-out mobilisation, which is sparing no effort or cost, is undertaken entirely to guard against the (worst-case) scenario," the government in Wenzhou, a metropolis of nearly 10 million people in Zhejiang, said in a statement.
Residents used wood to reinforce metal shutters protecting shops and taped windows, with Bavi forecast to bring "exceptionally heavy rains" to eastern Zhejiang and northeastern Fujian province, CCTV footage showed.
Torrential rain further north prompted the evacuation of more than 100,000 people from their homes in Beijing, the government said, as water discharge flows from the capital's Miyun Reservoir were ramped up to capture potential floodwaters.
More than 130,000 people have fled their homes in Fujian and around 34,000 people from Shanghai's coastal areas and high-risk areas, state media reported.
Streets were largely deserted in northern Taiwan, where most businesses were shut for a second day as wind and rain buffeted the region.
More than 14,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, hundreds of flights cancelled and more than 170,000 households across the island hit with power outages because of the storm.
"Everyone is afraid of the severe weather and staying indoors, but I only came out because I have orders," a breakfast shop owner surnamed Tsai told AFP in Taiwan's port city of Keelung. "Some people are on duty and wouldn't have anything to eat, so I still need to deliver food to them," the 50-year-old said.
Bavi had maximum sustained winds of 144 km per hour (90 mph), equivalent to Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and was about 200 km (124 miles) southeast of Wenling in the eastern province of Zhejiang as of 0808 GMT, according to the National Meteorological Center.
Bavi is forecast to make landfall around Wenzhou, home to some 10 million people, early on Sunday.
State media said more than 1.7 million people had been evacuated across Zhejiang province, where Wenzhou is located, and more than 100,000 in neighbouring Fujian province.
"I'm a little worried, but I think it'll be OK. We've been through typhoons before. We'll get through it," said Wenzhou resident Huang Xinghuan, 50, who was out buying groceries at a traditional wet market before it closed ahead of the typhoon.
Huang said his family had stocked about two to three days' worth of water. "I think supplies are well guaranteed now. There's no need to panic or stockpile a lot of food or other supplies," he added.
While Japan and Taiwan have not so far reported any deaths from the typhoon, 17 people died in the Philippines due to heavy rains brought by an enhanced southwest monsoon, worsened by Bavi's impact.
Taiwan's fire department said 87 people had been injured, mostly falls from motorcycles or bicycles, as well as people falling over or being struck by objects.
Taiwan spared worst of Bavi
In Taiwan, the government evacuated more than 14,000 people from mainly mountainous areas as the island shut down for the approach of Bavi to the north.
While Bavi did not make landfall in Taiwan, the government took precautions to prevent loss of life, given forecasts for almost 1 metre (3 feet) of rain in some areas.
Most of those evacuated were in areas in the north and east, with 920 international flights cancelled, effectively closing Taiwan's main international airport at Taoyuan, outside the capital Taipei, as well as all 282 domestic flights.
Almost all cities and counties across Taiwan declared a typhoon holiday for Saturday, closing any offices and schools that may have been open on the weekend, though in Taipei some restaurants and convenience stores remained open.
The main north-south high-speed rail line also continued to operate, but with reduced service.
In downtown Taipei some people were still out on the street in blustery wind and rain.
"It's OK, it's not that serious," said Yeh Mao-hsiung, 68, out for a morning walk with his dog. "It's just a little bit more wind."
But in Taipei's Beitou neighbourhood in the foothills of the mountains surrounding the city, gusts of around 100 kph knocked down trees and swelled rivers.
In Wenzhou, Chen Qiuqin, in her 60s, walked through steady rain on her way to her parents' home to help them prepare for the typhoon but said she was not too concerned given the government's preparations.
"I was worried about the flowerpots on my mother's balcony, so I'm going to help move them inside. My parents are both elderly and they're home alone, so I wasn't at ease," she said.
Reuters /AP