Typhoon Gaemi wreaked havoc in northern Taiwan on Thursday, claiming two lives, causing floods and leading to the sinking of an offshore cargo ship, before moving towards China where it’s predicted to cause further intense rainfall. Gaemi struck the northeast coastline of Taiwan, in Yilan county, just past midnight, local time. The typhoon, the most severe to strike the island in nearly a decade, boasted wind speeds of up to 227km/h (141m/h) before it began to lose strength, as per the Central Weather Administration.
Utilities provider, Taipower, confirmed that the storm resulted in power outages for roughly half a million homes in Taiwan, although the majority have now regained power. The Taiwanese fire department revealed that a freighter flying the Tanzanian flag, with nine crew members from Myanmar, sank off the coast of Kaohsiung, a city in the south. There has been no communication from the crew till now, and search operations are still underway.
The typhoon is forecast to bring further rainfall throughout Taiwan, causing offices, schools, and financial markets to close for a second consecutive day on Thursday. All domestic and 195 international flights have been cancelled for the day, and train services will also halt until 3pm. The high-speed train service, that connects north and south Taiwan, will resume operations from 2pm, as per the transport ministry.
The typhoon has led to the deaths of two individuals and injured 266 others, as stated by the government. Taiwanese TV channels aired images of cities and counties across the island submerged under water.
Chinese meteorologists predict that Gaemi will continue its path through the Fujian province on Thursday evening, before heading inland and shifting northward in a weakened state. However, they expect heavy rainfall in several areas along its trajectory.
Preparations for heavy rainfall and potential flooding have been made by the officials, who have issued advisories and warnings in the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang. Around 150,000 people, primarily from coastal fishing villages, have been evacuated in Fujian by the officials, as per the state media. Gale force winds prompted officials in Zhejiang’s Zhoushan to suspend passenger waterway services for up to three days.
According to the VariFlight app, the majority of flights at the airports of Fuzhou, Quanzhou in Fujian and Wenzhou in Zhejiang have been halted. In response to the typhoon’s impact, Guangzhou’s rail officials have put a halt on some trains, as reported by CCTV. Concurrently, the northern parts of China are amid heavy rainfall due to separate summer storms. Last Wednesday night, severity alert for intense rainfall was heightened to red in Beijing, the capital, as reported by the local press. Some regions are already witnessing heavy rainfall and emergency measures have been implemented, resulting in the evacuation of more than 25,000 people as cited by Beijing Daily. Certain rail services were also interrupted at the Beijing West Railway Station, according to official media reports. The Beijing Fangshan District Meteorological Observatory predicts that by 10 am, various parts of the city will witness rainfall exceeding 150mm (around six inches) within six hours, and in some areas, more than 200mm in 24 hours, as reported by the state television. (Reuters reference)