Looming Super Typhoon Bavi triggers flight cancellations across East Asia

Dozens of flights have been cancelled across East Asia as Super Typhoon Bavi approaches China. The typhoon, which has maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (100mph), is nearing a remote chain of Japanese islands, east of Taiwan on Friday.  

Taiwan's airlines have cancelled all of their flights on Saturday from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the island's main flight hub.

Malaysia Airlines said it had cancelled all flights to and from Taipei, Taiwan’s largest city, on Saturday, due to "adverse weather conditions,” in the region. 

A total of 14 flights to and from China’s island province of Zhoushan have been cancelled, the regional airport said in a statement on social media. In the city of Wenzhou, on China’s southeastern coast, 17 flights were cancelled. 

Authorities have warned of violent winds, torrential rain, landslides and flooding, prompting residents to tape up windows and drape windproof nets across homes, in what could be the region’s most destructive storm in years. 

In Ishigaki, one of the Japanese islands, residents stocked up on supplies, emptying shelves of instant noodles at a local supermarket. Some public beaches and coastal parks and the local ferry terminal appeared closed.

Bavi is forecast to make landfall around the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, home to 10 million people, late on Saturday.

The typhoon is not expected to make landfall in Taiwan but will dump huge amounts of rain on the island, some areas could get up to one metre (3.3 feet) of rain — starting late on Friday.

Financial markets closed for the day in Taiwan, with a large swathe of the north and east also off work. The Taipei City Government has set up stations for residents to collect sandbags.

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The government said more than 1,000 people have been evacuated, mainly from the mountainous eastern coast, and nearly 29,000 military personnel were on standby to help relief efforts. 

"Although the typhoon has weakened slightly and has been downgraded to a moderate typhoon, its storm radius is large and it may still bring strong winds and heavy rain to many areas," Taiwan President Lai Ching-te wrote on his Facebook page.

Taiwanese firm, TSMC, the world’s largest chip maker, said it would delay the scheduled release of its June sales data from Friday to Monday. 

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