Taiwan braces for Typhoon Gaemi, which is likely to become the most severe storm to hit the island in 8 years.
Typhoon Gaemi has arrived on Wednesday near the city of Hualien, on Taiwan’s east coast, killing two people and injuring 201 others, reported Reuters.
Taiwan on Standby
The powerful typhoon has brought heavy rainfall and gusts of around 240 kmh. Hence, weather authorities upgraded Gaemi’s status to a strong typhoon, with gusts of up to 227 kmh (141 mph) near its center.
As a result, the Taiwanese government has shut financial markets, cancelled flights and suspended school. It announced that financial markets and schools will stay closed on Thursday.
Taiwan Premier Cho Jung-tai said in a televised meeting of the emergency response center: “The next 24 hours will present a very severe challenge.”
The government announced the evacuation of more than 8,000 people from mountainous regions with low populations due to the heightened risk of landslides and flash flooding resulting from the “extremely torrential rain.”
Furthermore, Taiwan Ministry of Defense said it had put 29,000 soldiers on standby for relief efforts. Typhoon Gaemi has scaled back the annual Han Kuang war games, but live fire drills proceeded as scheduled on the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.
Heading for China
Typhoon Gaemi is expected to hit the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian late on Thursday afternoon, after crossing the Taiwan Strait. The Ministry of Water Resources warned that Gaemi will bring heavy to intense rains over large swathes of China until July 31. China has already witnessed weeks of extreme rain and deadly flooding.
On its way to Taiwan, the typhoon caused heavy rain in vast areas of the Philippines, halting work and schools and suspending foreign exchange trading. The floods have turned the streets of Manila into rivers, and killed 12 people.
