Typhoon Bavi causes 15 deaths in the Philippines and puts Taiwan on alert

After leaving at least 15 people dead in the Philippines, Typhoon Bavi advanced this Friday (10) towards Taiwan, where more than 2,000 people were forced to abandon their homes before the phenomenon hit the island.
The typhoon is expected to hit northern and eastern Taiwan, as well as the remote southwestern islands of Japan, between Friday and Saturday, before making landfall in China.
In the Philippines, two landslides triggered by heavy rains worsened by Bavi killed at least 15 people and left six missing on the island of Mindanao, authorities said.
In the Taiwanese port city of Keelung, one of the areas expected to be affected, residents they stocked up on food, reinforced windows and placed sandbags in front of commercial establishments.
After hitting Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands on Monday as a super typhoon, Bavi lost intensity and was downgraded to typhoon category as it advanced across the Pacific Ocean. This Friday, winds reached 155 kilometers per hour, with gusts of up to 190 km/h, according to the Taiwan Central Meteorological Administration (CWA).
"The typhoon is expected to continue to lose strength because environmental conditions are not favorable," Wang Ping-hsiang, CWA meteorologist, explained to AFP.
Many schools and commercial establishments closed this Friday in the north and east of the island. Hundreds of flights were cancelled.
'High alert'
In Keelung, one of the most exposed cities, residents rushed to markets in search of food. "What you're seeing now is something we haven't experienced in the last 10 years," Penny Pan, 48, owner of a restaurant in the city, told AFP, as her husband placed bags of sand at the entrance to the establishment.
Meteorologists predict that Bavi will cause almost a meter of rain, which increases the risk of flooding and landslides. More than 2,000 people have fled their homes, mainly in the mountainous Hualien county in eastern Taiwan, where authorities are monitoring two dams.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te called on residents in the most exposed areas to remain on "high alert." Almost 28 thousand soldiers were mobilized to act in case of emergency.
In Japan, on the remote Sakishima islands, some schools and establishments remained closed before the arrival of the typhoon.
Bavi is expected to hit eastern China during the weekend.
The country has already faced major storms in the south and center this week, which left at least 39 people dead, caused several rivers to flood and a dam to collapse.
The oceans recorded the highest temperature in the historical series in June, according to the European Union's Copernicus Marine Service.
The warming of the oceans favors the intensification of tropical cyclones and causes more humidity, which can translate into more intense rains.

Source: G1