Typhoon Gaemi barrels through Taiwan, killing 2, heads to Chinese coast

Typhoon Gaemi blew through northern Taiwan on Thursday, July 25, killing two people, bringing floods and leading to traffic snarls, before heading across the sea and into China where it is expected to bring further torrential rain.

Gaemi made landfall around midnight (1600 GMT on Wednesday) on the northeastern coast of Taiwan in Yilan county. It is the strongest typhoon to hit the island in eight years and was packing gusts of up to 227 km/h (141 mph) before weakening, according to the Central Weather Administration.

As of 8:30 am, it was in the Taiwan Strait and heading toward Fuzhou in China’s Fujian province.

It is expected to bring further rain across Taiwan, with offices and schools as well as the financial markets closed for a second day on Thursday.

Trains, including the high speed line linking northern and southern Taiwan, will be closed until 3 pm (0700 GMT), with all domestic flights and 185 international flights cancelled for the day.

Two people have died and 266 injured due to the typhoon, the government said. Taiwanese television stations showed pictures of flooded streets in cities and counties across the island.

Chinese weather forecasters said Gaemi will pass through Fujian and head inland, gradually moving northward with less intensity. But weather forecasters are expecting heavy rain in many areas as it tracks north.

Government officials have already prepared for a stretch of heavy rain and flooding – raising advisories and warnings in the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang.

Meanwhile, north China is experiencing heavy rain from summer storms around a separate weather system. Officials in capital Beijing upgraded and issued a red warning late Wednesday night for torrential rain expected through most of Thursday, according to Chinese state media.

The Beijing Fangshan District Meteorological Observatory expects that by 10 am (0200 GMT) many parts of the city will have more than 150 mm (6 inches) of rainfall in six hours, and in some other areas more than 200 mm (8 inches) in 24 hours, state television reported. – Rappler.com