Deadly Typhoon Gaemi Lashes Taiwan After Killing 13 in Philippines

The outer band of Typhoon Gaemi has brought heavy rain to much of Taiwan, as well as wind gusts of approximately 150 miles per hour, reported BBC News.

Gaemi landed near Hualien, killing two people and injuring hundreds more, the country’s officials said. It is expected to be the strongest storm to hit Taiwan in eight years.

Direct landfall in Taiwan was predicted in Ylan, a northern county, on Wednesday evening, The Associated Press reported.

Before making it to Taiwan, Gaemi strengthened seasonal heavy rains in the Philippines, killed at least 13 and displaced 600,000.

President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. commented that more than 770,000 people had been affected in the country’s southern regions by the southwest monsoon and typhoon, reported CNN.

In Taiwan, a number of flights were canceled as travelers hurried to catch overseas flights in advance of the storm. As seas churned and became more turbulent, fishing boats were called back to port, according to The Associated Press.

The storm knocked over trees, killing one person and injuring dozens of others. Shelters opened in vulnerable areas such as the mountainous center of the country, as well as eastern Taiwan, where heavy rains have a tendency to cause flooding and landslides.

In many cities and towns, high winds toppled pedestrians and those on motor scooters.

Most cities in Taiwan, including the capital Taipei, closed offices and schools on Wednesday, and some rapid train services were suspended by Taiwan Railways, CNN reported.

All regular train services and dozens of flights were canceled through Thursday.

The country’s defense authorities said they were modifying annual exercises due to the typhoon.

“We will adjust some of the air and naval elements given the typhoon situation,” said Sun Li-fiang, defense ministry spokesperson, in Hualien, as reported by CNN.

Authorities warned that the biggest risks caused by the typhoon would be from potential flash flooding and landslides, particularly on mountainsides that had been destabilized by an earthquake in the spring, BBC News reported.

On Tuesday evening, supermarket shelves were bare as people stocked up to avoid a steep rise in prices following the storm.

Originally, Typhoon Gaemi was predicted to land further north, but northern Taiwan’s mountains steered it slightly southward.

Officials say the storm’s moisture is its biggest threat, despite its extremely strong winds.

A land warning has been issued by Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration for the entire country, with the worst of the storm’s rain and wind expected on Wednesday and Thursday.

Gaemi is predicted to lose strength as it moves over the mountains before it heads toward China through the Taiwan Strait.

The powerful typhoon is projected to make a second landfall in China’s Fujian Province on Thursday, where it is predicted to bring nearly 12 inches of rain that will cause extensive flooding as it moves inland and breaks apart.