Taiwan warns of 'destructive' winds as typhoon nears

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Taipei: Taiwan has issued an urgent warning for ‘destructive’ winds as Typhoon Bavi, the largest storm to approach the island since 1995, sweeps closer. The massive weather system is forecast to heavily batter northern coastal regions from Friday night through Saturday daytime.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 184 kilometers per hour and an expansive radius of 380 kilometers, Bavi threatens even areas far from its center. 

Taipei residents are actively stacking sandbags against severe flooding, while anxious local fishermen have rushed back to ports to tie down their vessels.

The approaching storm has already triggered widespread flight cancellations, suspended major ferry routes, and forced the emergency evacuation of nearly two hundred residents in eastern Hualien County. 

Forecasters predict Bavi will dump up to a full meter of torrential rain over northern and central mountainous terrain.

After bypassing Taiwan, Bavi is projected to make landfall in eastern China over the weekend. The storm threatens a mainland already deeply reeling from separate deadly weather systems, which have left at least thirty-nine people dead and caused a reservoir dam to burst this week.