KEELUNG(National Times)- Fifteen people were killed in landslides in the Philippines and thousands in Taiwan were evacuated from their homes as the biggest typhoon in decades neared the region on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Typhoon Bavi is expected to pound Taiwan\u2019s north and east, as well as Japan\u2019s remote southwestern islands, on Saturday before smashing into China, which has been hit by deadly storms this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two landslides triggered by heavy rains driven by Bavi killed at least 15 people and left six others missing on the Philippines southern island of Mindanao.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Locals in Taiwan\u2019s port city of Keelung, which is expected to be one of the hardest hit areas on the island, stocked up on food, taped windows and stacked sandbags along shopfronts, heeding warnings from authorities to take precautions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re saying it\u2019s going to be huge; of course that\u2019s scary, right?\u201d Keelung grocery store owner Chang Shih-huo, 76, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve stocked up on some instant noodles and bread and stuff like that. Once the wind and rain really start picking up, we\u2019ll have to close the shop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After hitting Guam and the Northern Marianas on Monday as a super typhoon, Bavi was downgraded to a typhoon as it moved across the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bavi\u2019s maximum sustained wind speeds slowed to 155 kilometres per hour, with gusts of around 190 kilometres per hour, on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom tonight through daytime tomorrow will be the period when the typhoon is closest to Taiwan and its impact will be the most significant,\u201d forecaster Liao Chwen-huey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biggest in 30 years<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bavi\u2019s strong-wind radius of 380 kilometres will make it the largest typhoon to hit Taiwan in more than 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many schools and businesses were shuttered on Friday across northern and eastern Taiwan, and hundreds of flights were cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Keelung, locals flocked to a fresh food market to buy fruit and vegetables, street vendors secured their stands and a temple covered and tied down an outdoor statue ahead of the storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat you\u2019re seeing now is the most remarkable sight we haven\u2019t seen in 10 years,\u201d Keelung restaurant owner Penny Pan, 48, said as her husband placed sandbags at the entrance to their eatery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the past we never used sandbags to prepare for typhoons. But this time they\u2019re forecasting Force 10 gusts, so the captains and fishermen have all been saying we need to be better prepared,\u201d Pan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bavi is expected to dump up to nearly a metre of rain, raising concerns about potential flooding and landslides. The strongest winds are expected on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People were ordered to stay away from the shore as the typhoon whipped up to nine metre (30 foot) waves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KEELUNG(National Times)- Fifteen people were killed in landslides in the Philippines and thousands in Taiwan were evacuated from their homes as the biggest typhoon in decades neared the region on Friday. Typhoon Bavi is expected to pound Taiwan\u2019s north and east, as well as Japan\u2019s remote southwestern islands, on Saturday before smashing into China, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n