Transport services resume as Typhoon Bavi weakens

Typhoon Bavi weakened into a severe tropical storm early Sunday as transport links and daily activities gradually resumed in parts of eastern China affected by the storm, China Central Television reported.

The storm weakened at about 5 am on Sunday with maximum winds at Force 11. It was forecast to move northwestward at 20 to 25 kilometers per hour while continuing to lose strength, the report said.

In Taizhou, Zhejiang province, traffic restrictions on the Jiaojiang Bridge and the Second Jiaojiang Bridge were lifted at 6 am after the Jiaojiang district authorities said the storm's impact on travel safety had diminished.

Traffic controls were also removed from the Puba Port Bridge and Jiantiao Bridge in Sanmen county in Taizhou at about 7 am, allowing vehicles to resume normal travel, according to the local authorities.

In neighboring Fujian province, highway authorities in Ningde adjusted traffic restrictions from 7 am. Expressway entrances in Fuding heading towards Wenzhou, Zhejiang, remained closed because the expressways in the Wenzhou area were still under full traffic control and were not yet considered safe for reopening.

Affected Zhejiang-bound traffic was diverted via designated toll stations to national roads, including National Highway 104. All other toll stations and interchange sections in the Ningde expressway jurisdiction reopened.

Recovery work was also underway in Haiyan Economic Development Zone in Zhejiang. Local workers conducted continuous inspections on Sunday, removed fallen trees and branches, and cleared obstacles from roads to keep local traffic moving.

As of Saturday afternoon, Zhejiang had relocated over 2.21 million people and opened 19,000 emergency shelters in response to the typhoon. The province-wide evacuation focused on high-risk areas, including construction sites near mountains and waterways, hazardous chemical plants, and surrounding low-lying neighborhoods.