China on Thursday upgraded its national emergency response for flooding and typhoons from Level IV to Level III as Super Typhoon Bavi intensified over the western Pacific.

Forecasters warned it could bring heavy rain not only to the country's southeastern coast but also to parts of north and northeast China far from its projected track.

As of 2 p.m. Thursday, Bavi's center was located about 1,030 kilometers southeast of Keelung in China's Taiwan region, packing maximum sustained winds of 52 meters per second near its center. The storm is moving northwest at 10 to 15 kilometers per hour.

According to Chinese meteorological authorities, Bavi is expected to brush or make landfall along the northern coast of Taiwan on Saturday before making a second landfall between Fuqing in Fujian Province and Wenling in Zhejiang Province later that night. The storm is forecast to remain at super typhoon or strong typhoon strength near the Taiwan region before weakening slightly to strong typhoon or typhoon strength by its second landfall on the mainland.

But Bavi's impact is expected to extend far beyond its projected track.

The China Meteorological Administration forecasts heavy to torrential rain from Thursday to Saturday across parts of northern Shaanxi Province, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and central and southern northeast China, with some areas expected to receive exceptionally heavy precipitation. 

Forecasters warned that some regions could see prolonged rainfall and unusually high cumulative totals. In Beijing, the upcoming event could become the strongest rainfall episode since this year's flood season began in July.

To support preparations for Typhoon Bavi, the Office of the National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the Ministry of Emergency Management, and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration have allocated 50,000 centrally stored disaster relief supplies to Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. The supplies, including folding beds, summer quilts and family emergency kits, will support the evacuation, temporary shelter and resettlement of affected residents.

Meteorologists say Bavi's vast circulation will draw warm, moisture-rich air from the Pacific deep into inland China, even hundreds of kilometers from the storm itself. As that moisture collides with cooler air moving south, conditions become favorable for widespread rainfall.

Sun Qianqian, a meteorological analyst with China Weather Network, said the northward shift of the subtropical high will help steer that moisture toward north and northeast China, creating favorable conditions for intense downpours far from the typhoon itself.

Authorities said they will continue to monitor Bavi's development and adjust the emergency response as needed. Forecasters also noted that the typhoon's track after making landfall remains uncertain, meaning the location and intensity of rainfall across inland regions could still change.