A powerful typhoon was moving toward China's eastern coast on Friday, adding to the country's severe weather crisis after other storms killed at least 50 people earlier this week.

Typhoon Bavi, packing maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometres per hour (96 mph), was expected to pass north of Taiwan, bringing heavy rain to the island of 23 million people from Friday night through Saturday.

Authorities closed schools in Taipei on Friday as a precaution. Fishing boats were secured in northern ports, while many flights to Japan, Hong Kong and other destinations were cancelled through Saturday, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency. Some flights, however, were still operating.

Forecasters said the typhoon was following a northwesterly path that would take it over remote Japanese islands before passing north of Taiwan on Saturday. It is expected to make landfall in China on Saturday night, south of Shanghai near the border of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces.

Chinese authorities have evacuated more than 17,000 people in Zhejiang province and deployed about 170,000 rescue workers on standby, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. In neighbouring Fujian, some ferry services have been suspended due to strong winds and rough seas, while fishing boats have been ordered back to port.

Bavi has weakened since earlier this week, when it was a super typhoon and brought destructive winds to Saipan and other US territories in the Pacific.

Meanwhile, southern China is still recovering from the impact of Tropical Storm Maysak. Authorities said on Thursday that flooding caused by the storm killed 39 people in the Guangxi region after days of record-breaking rainfall.

The heavy rains caused reservoirs to overflow, including the partial collapse of a dam in Hengzhou, sending muddy floodwaters across nearby areas. Many residents were trapped for days on the upper floors of buildings, often without electricity, until rescue teams reached them.

Earlier this week, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes killed 11 people in Hubei province in central China.

In a separate incident unrelated to the storms, a landslide in Gansu province in western China killed 21 forestry workers on Tuesday.