New Delhi, July 11 -- Typhoon Bavi struck China's eastern Zhejiang province late on Saturday, prompting authorities to maintain high alert as the storm was expected to weaken gradually, state media reported.

Earlier, the typhoon swept across Japan's southern islands and Taiwan, bringing heavy rainfall and powerful winds. It marked the second typhoon to hit China in just over a week, after Typhoon Maysak made landfall in the country's south on July 3.

Ahead of Bavi's arrival, more than 1.7 million people were evacuated from vulnerable areas across eastern China. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of up to 144 kmph (89 mph) near its centre.

In Shanghai, officials relocated nearly 34,000 residents from flood-prone and high-risk are...