Taiwan shuts down as Typhoon Gaemi approaches

Taiwan closed schools, suspended the stock market, and declared a typhoon holiday Wednesday as Gaemi barrelled towards the island, bringing torrential rains and whipping winds to its northeast.

Typhoon Gaemi, packing sustained wind speeds of 190 kilometres (118 miles) per hour, also affected Japan and the Philippines — which announced government offices would close for the day.

It is expected to make landfall in northeast Taiwan by 10 pm (1400 GMT), and President Lai Ching-te urged everyone to “put safety first” during a morning emergency briefing.

“Gaemi is this year’s first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan,” Lai said.

“I hope that through our joint efforts, impact from the typhoon can be minimised… I also encourage fellow citizens across the country not to go out unless necessary during the typhoon, especially not to dangerous places.”

The weather forced the self-ruled island to cancel some of its annual Han Kuang war games — which test preparedness for a Chinese invasion — but an anti-landing drill went ahead as scheduled on Wednesday morning on Penghu island, west of Taiwan.

Authorities evacuated more than 4,000 people living in precarious conditions in the northern regions, particularly Hualien — a mountainous area with high risk of landslides.

By afternoon, authorities said nearly 60 people were injured across the island from the typhoon’s impact.

Trains and ferry services were suspended and hundreds of international and domestic flights cancelled on Wednesday.

“We expect that the impact of the typhoon will be extended to four days (until Friday),” said Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration chief Cheng Jia-ping, adding that the public would need to “take precautions against heavy rain and strong wind”.

The typhoon is expected to pass through the Taiwan Strait and hit China by Thursday in the eastern Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, where authorities have issued a red storm alert.

In Taiwan’s northeastern Yilan county, massive waves crashed against the shore, while market vendors worked quickly to protect their stalls with canvas and shops had taped glass windows.

At a harbour crowded with docked vessels, a fisher surnamed Hsu tied down his boat at a typhoon shelter.

“I am worried about the typhoon — the boats are my tool for making money,” he told AFP.

In the capital Taipei, government offices were closed and streets emptied, while some stores sandbagged their entrances to prevent potential floodwater.

Taiwanese chip giant TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it would maintain normal production and the firm “has activated routine typhoon alert preparation procedures” at all fabrication plants.

Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October, but experts say climate change has increased their intensity, leading to heavy rains, flash floods and strong gusts.

In neighbouring Japan, authorities of a southern island region of Okinawa urged residents to “exercise strong vigilance” against storms, high waves and floods.

In the Philippines, meanwhile, heavy downpours in Manila triggered widespread flooding and a landslide in a nearby mountainous province killed four people.

AFP