Typhoon Bavi has made landfall in eastern China, marking the second typhoon to strike the country within a week and prompting the evacuation of nearly two million people from areas expected to be affected.

The powerful storm, stretching nearly 1,000 kilometres across at its widest point, first came ashore in the coastal city of Taizhou on Saturday evening before making a second landfall in Wenzhou around midnight.

Before reaching China, Typhoon Bavi swept past a chain of remote Japanese islands and brought heavy rainfall to northern Taiwan as it moved through the region.

The storm also caused deadly conditions in the Philippines, where landslides triggered by heavy rain killed at least 17 people.

Although Bavi has weakened into a severe tropical storm, meteorologists warn that it continues to pose a serious threat due to the large amount of moisture contained within its rain bands.

Chinese authorities have forecast exceptionally heavy rainfall across Zhejiang and Fujian provinces and said the large-scale evacuations were carried out as a precaution to protect residents from the worst possible impacts.

State media reported that more than 1.7 million people were evacuated from Zhejiang alone, with thousands more relocated from neighbouring provinces.

The storm has also caused major disruptions to daily life, with schools closed, outdoor activities suspended, approximately 400 flights cancelled, and dozens of train services halted as officials continue to monitor the storm’s path.