India, July 11 -- Chinese authorities evacuated more than 1.7 million people in eastern China and issued high-level weather alerts as Typhoon Bavi approached the coast with powerful winds and heavy rain. The storm has already disrupted Taiwan and Japan's southern islands, while intensified monsoon rains linked to Bavi have killed at least 17 people in the Philippines, according to local officials.

China's National Meteorological Centre said Bavi, carrying maximum sustained winds of 144 kph (89 mph), is expected to make landfall in Zhejiang before midnight Saturday or early Sunday before moving inland.

Typhoon Bavi Latest News: Mass Evacuations in Zhejiang & Shanghai

Authorities in Zhejiang province had evacuated more than 1.7 million r...