Typhoon Bavi, the most powerful storm to hit China this year, brought torrential rains to the east coast on Sunday and lashed densely populated cities with strong winds, testing the country's ability to cope with extreme weather.

Typhoon Bavi weakened to a tropical storm on Sunday morning, but forecasters warned that the storm system could bring widespread, long-lasting rain across eastern and northern China in the coming days. Nearly 2 million people were evacuated ahead of Bavi's arrival, mostly in Zhejiang province, an economic and technological powerhouse in the world's second-largest economy.

The winds were very strong. "We could hear the roof tiles and tree branches falling. We were scared, but we live by the sea, so we're used to it," said one of the residents.

Typhoon Bavi slammed into northern Taiwan on Saturday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to much of the island. The storm dumped nearly 80 centimeters of rain in one area in the northern county of Miaoli. Taiwan's fire department said Sunday that 134 people were injured, mostly from falling off motorbikes, slipping or being hit by objects.

The transport ministry said 137 international flights were cancelled on Sunday, along with 62 domestic trips. The disruption also extended to China's transport networks. In the capital of Zhejiang province, Hangzhou, two major railway stations suspended all services and 327 flights were cancelled at Xiaoshan International Airport.