Typhoon Gaemi, known as Typhoon Carina in the Philippines, made landfall in Taiwan early Thursday, marking the most severe storm to hit the region in eight years. It struck Yilan County with sustained winds reaching 205 kph (125 mph), comparable to a Category 3 major hurricane in the Atlantic.
Axar.az reports that the storm unleashed strong gusts and heavy rainfall, resulting in at least three fatalities and hundreds of injuries. In response, authorities closed financial markets, schools, and offices.
As of Thursday, the typhoon was moving across the Taiwan Strait towards Fujian province in mainland China, where it is anticipated to make landfall later, bringing additional strong winds and heavy rain to an area already grappling with weeks of extreme weather and deadly flooding. Chinese meteorologists predict that Gaemi will pass through Fujian province on Thursday evening and then move inland, gradually shifting northward with diminishing intensity.
However, heavy rainfall is expected in many regions as it tracks north, affecting areas not directly in the storm's path. Government officials are bracing for significant rain and flooding, issuing warnings for the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang. In Fujian, approximately 150,000 people have been relocated, primarily from coastal fishing communities, according to state media reports.
Most flights have been canceled at airports in Fuzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian, as well as Wenzhou in Zhejiang, as reported by the VariFlight app. Guangzhou rail officials have suspended some train services that pass through areas impacted by the typhoon, according to CCTV. In Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, officials have halted passenger waterway routes for up to three days due to increasing gale-force winds.
Meanwhile, northern China is experiencing heavy rainfall from summer storms associated with a separate weather system. Officials in Beijing issued a red warning late Wednesday night for torrential rain expected to last throughout Thursday. Some areas have already seen significant rainfall, prompting emergency plans to be activated and leading to the evacuation of over 25,000 people, as reported by Beijing Daily. Additionally, some train services at the Beijing West Railway Station have been suspended.
Typhoon Gaemi has already claimed 22 lives in the Philippines, exacerbating flooding and landslides from already elevated monsoon rainfall, bringing the total death toll from the storm to 25. The typhoon is also believed to be linked to the capsizing of several vessels at sea, including a cargo ship off Taiwan and an oil tanker off the Philippines that sank on Thursday morning amid rough seas.
In the Philippines, authorities are searching for a missing crew member from the tanker and are racing against time