Taiwan is bracing for Typhoon Gaemi today with financial markets closed, flights cancelled and offices shut for the day.
Gaemi, the first typhoon of the season, will make landfall on Taiwan’s northeast coast by early evening on Wednesday and move towards China’s Fujian province by Friday.
Schools and work were suspended across Taiwan, and Taipei’s usually busy streets were empty.
“Tomorrow, please stay at home,” Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an wrote on his Facebook page yesterday. “Gaemi, the first typhoon to make landfall this year, continues to strengthen.”
Gaemi, which was called Carina in the Philippines, did not make landfall in the archipelago but enhanced its seasonal monsoon rains, leading to floods and landslides that have killed at least 12 people,
In Yilan county, the typhoon’s first landfall point, strong winds and rain shut down breakfast shops and cleared roads.
“This could be the biggest typhoon in recent years,” fishing boat captain Hung Chun told Reuters.
Almost all domestic flights and 201 international flights are cancelled. Rail operations will stop, but high-speed trains will still run.
Over 2,000 people were evacuated from mountain areas due to landslide risks from heavy rain.
Key Points
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Taiwan braces for Typhoon Gaemi
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Typhoon Gaemi could reach ‘super typhoon’ category before landfall
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Philippines death toll rises to 12
Philippines death toll rises to 12
06:17 , Stuti Mishra
The death toll from heavy rainfall, landslides and floods in the Philippines has risen to 12 as rescuers dig out bodies of people who were buried.
Gaemi, which was called Carina in the Philippines, did not make landfall in the archipelago but enhanced its seasonal monsoon rains. The rains set off at least a dozen landslides and floods over five days, killing at least eight and displacing 600,000 people, including 35,000 who went to emergency shelters, the Philippines’ disaster risk mitigation agency said.
A landslide buried a rural shanty Tuesday in Agoncillo town in Batangas province, and the bodies of a pregnant woman and three children, aged 9 to 15, were dug out this morning.
Rainfall inundated roads overnight and government work and school classes were suspended in the densely populated region around the Philippine capital.
People were seen wading through knee- and waist-high floodwaters with some using improvised dinghies and paddling their way alongside cars, trucks and SUVs.
Typhoon Gaemi could reach ‘super typhoon’ category before landfall
05:54 , Stuti Mishra
Typhoon Gaemi is expected to intensify further as it churns towards the northern part of Taiwan, where it is expected to make landfall later today.
The wind speed of the storm is already around 227 kph (141 mph) near its centre, with a status of a strong typhoon.
According to the Philippines’national forecaster Gaemi could still intensify further and may become a super typhoon over the next 8-9 hours before its landfall in Taiwan.
A super typhoon is a tropical cyclone with sustained surface winds of over 150mph (240kmh), which is comparable to a strong Category 4 or Category 5 hurricane.
Typhoon Gaemi now equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane
05:18 , Stuti Mishra
Gaemi, which is churning towards Taiwan in the Philippines sea, had sustained wind speeds of 241 kilometres per hour, or 150 miles per hour, which would make it a Category 4 hurricane if it were in the Atlantic Ocean.
Super Typhoon #Gaemi is forecast to strike #Taiwan 🌀⚠️
Winds could exceed 240 km/h (150 mph), the equivalent of a high-end category 4 hurricane, before impacting northern Taiwan on Wednesday.
Gaemi will then go on to strike China’s Fujian province on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/yKJyCG3owt
— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) July 23, 2024
Eight killed as the Philippines battered by heavy rainfall and landslides
05:01 , Stuti Mishra
At least eight people are dead and more than 600,000 people displaced due to flooding and landslides in the Philippines caused by Typhoon Gaemi, which is locally called Carina.
The storm did not blow inland, but the intense rains they enhanced in the past five days have set off at least a dozen landslides and floods.
In the densely populated region around the Philippines capital Manila, government work and school classes were suspended today after rain flooded many areas overnight, trapping cars in rising floodwater and stranding people in their homes.
Typhoon Gaemi heads towards Taiwan
04:49 , Stuti Mishra
Taiwan is bracing for Typhoon Gaemi today with financial markets closed, flights cancelled and offices shut for the day.
Gaemi, the first typhoon of the season, will make landfall on Taiwan’s northeast coast by early evening on Wednesday and move towards China’s Fujian province by Friday.
Schools and work were suspended across Taiwan, and Taipei’s usually busy streets were empty.
“Tomorrow, please stay at home,” Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an wrote on his Facebook page yesterday. “Gaemi, the first typhoon to make landfall this year, continues to strengthen.”
04:33 , Stuti Mishra
Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Typhoon Gaemi which is barrelling towards Taiwan. Stay tuned for the latest updates!