Typhoon Gaemi strengthens as it nears Taiwan; work halted, one dead

YILAN, Taiwan - Taiwan hunkered down on July 24 for the arrival of a strengthening Typhoon Gaemi, with financial markets closed, people given the day off work, and flights cancelled, while the military went on standby amid torrential rain.

Gaemi, expected to be the strongest storm to hit Taiwan in eight years, was expected to make landfall on the north-east coast late in the evening on July 24, the weather authorities said. Its eye was hovering off Hualien county as at 7.15pm.

The weather authorities upgraded its status to a strong typhoon, packing gusts of up to 227kmh near its centre.

One person died, crushed by a falling tree, in the southern city of Kaohsiung, the fire department said. It also reported that another 58 people were injured.

After crossing the Taiwan Strait, the typhoon is likely to hit the south-eastern Chinese province of Fujian late on the afternoon of July 25.

Financial markets will remain closed on July 25, with work and school suspended for a second day, the government said.

“The next 24 hours will present a very severe challenge,” Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai told a televised meeting of the emergency response centre.

In rural Yilan county, where the typhoon will first hit land, heavy rain battered the countryside.

“This could be the biggest typhoon in recent years,” fishing boat captain Hung Chun told Reuters, adding that Yilan’s Suao harbour was packed with boats seeking shelter. “It’s charging directly towards the east coast, and if it makes landfall here, the damage would be enormous.”

Work and school have been suspended across the whole of Taiwan, with the streets of capital Taipei almost deserted during what was normally rush hour amid squally rain.

The government said more than 4,000 people have been evacuated from sparsely populated mountain areas at high risk of landslides from the “extremely torrential rain”.

The Transportation Ministry said almost all domestic flights had been cancelled, along with 227 international flights.

On July 25, all domestic flights will stop, and 185 international flights will be cancelled, it added.

Singapore Airlines said two of its flights departing Singapore and Taipei on July 24 were retimed. All affected customers have been contacted, said its spokesperson, while other flights between Singapore and Taipei, as well as Xiamen, may be affected.

Budget carrier Scoot cancelled its TR897 flight scheduled to depart Taoyuan International Airport for Changi Airport at 1.30am on July 25. Four other flights to and fro Taiwan on the same day were also retimed.

A Scoot spokesperson said: “Scoot has contacted affected customers to re-accommodate them onto alternative flights, where available. Affected customers may also request a full refund if they choose not to continue with their travel.”

The Transportation Ministry said all rail operations stopped from noon on July 24, with an abbreviated schedule for high-speed links between north and south Taiwan that will continue to operate.

However, TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and major Apple supplier, said it expected all its factories to maintain normal production during the typhoon, adding that it had activated routine preparation procedures.

Japanese media said the typhoon also caused the cancellation of all flights departing from and arriving in Miyako and Ishigaki in Japan’s Okinawa prefecture, which lies in the storm’s path.

Soldiers on standby

Some mountainous central and southern Taiwan counties are expected to see total rainfall of up to 1,800mm during the typhoon, the weather authorities said.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said it had put 29,000 soldiers on standby for disaster relief efforts.

While the typhoon has severely curtailed the annual Han Kuang war games, the exercise has not been totally cancelled, with live-fire drills taking place as scheduled on the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait on July 24 morning.

Gaemi is expected to bring heavy to very intense rain over vast swathes of China from July 25, China’s Water Resources Ministry warned.

The rain is expected to last till July 31, fuelled by the typhoon’s abundant moisture, it added.

Gaemi and a south-west monsoon also brought heavy rain on July 24 to the Philippine capital region and northern provinces, prompting the authorities to halt work and classes, while stock and foreign exchange trading were suspended. The storm killed 12 people.

While typhoons can be highly destructive, Taiwan also relies on them to replenish reservoirs after the traditionally drier winter months, especially for the southern part of the island. REUTERS