Typhoon Bavi: China braces for second major storm in a week.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from parts of eastern China as the powerful typhoon – the country’s second in a week – barrels ashore.

The 1,000 kilometer (620 mile) long storm – the size of France – is expected to make landfall near the capital Wenzhou on Sunday morning.

After battering the distant Japanese island chain, it brought heavy rains as it crossed the northern tip of Taiwan. At least 17 people were killed in landslides triggered by the typhoon in the Philippines earlier.

Although it has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane, it still poses a threat due to the high levels of moisture in the rain bands.

Bavi predicted it would bring “exceptional heavy rain” to eastern Zhejiang province and northeastern Fujian province, officials added, adding that it was “fully done to guard against (the worst)”.

Wenzhou, a city of about 10 million people, is close to the storm’s path.

Bavi started out as a superstorm last Monday, hitting Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands with sustained winds of 290 km/h (180 mph).

It hit the Sakishima Islands, part of Japan’s Ryukyu Island chain between the country’s main islands and Taiwan, as it traveled across the Pacific Ocean with winds weakening to 144 kilometers per hour. At least five people were injured and thousands were left without electricity.

Taiwan itself suffered no direct damage, but thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes and there was a risk of landslides after heavy rains. No deaths were reported by any country.