Typhoon Bavi was forecast to make landfall Saturday night on China's east coast, south of Shanghai, near the border of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. The powerful storm, with maximum sustained winds of 162 kilometers (101 miles) per hour, follows a week of deadly weather events that have killed at least 50 people in other parts of the country.
Bavi is expected to pass north of Taiwan, bringing heavy rains to the island from Friday night into Saturday. Schools were closed in Taipei, and fishing boats were secured in northern Taiwan's ports. Many flights to Japan and Hong Kong have been canceled through Saturday.
More than 17,000 people have been evacuated in Zhejiang province, and 170,000 rescue workers have been placed on standby. Fujian province has suspended ferry routes and urged fishing boats to return to port.
Earlier in the week, Bavi weakened from supertyphoon strength after bringing violent winds to U.S. territories in the Pacific, including Saipan.
In southern China, Tropical Storm Maysak caused flooding in the Guangxi region, killing 39 people. Record rainfall breached reservoirs, leading to the collapse of part of a dam in Hengzhou, which inundated an area with fast-flowing water and stranded residents for days. Separately, 11 people died in Hubei province during severe thunderstorms and tornadoes on Monday night.
In western China's Gansu province, a landslide on Tuesday killed 21 forestry workers. This disaster was not related to the storms.