Typhoon Gaemi (Karina) heads toward Taiwan, threatening more rains for Philippines and China

Taipei, Taiwan
CNN
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A powerful and fast-strengthening typhoon is heading toward Taiwan, disrupting ongoing military exercises and forcing authorities to close financial markets, schools and offices.

Conditions in Taiwan are worsening as Typhoon Gami brings heavy rains, gusty winds and a dangerous storm surge. The storm is expected to strengthen into a super typhoon before making landfall on the island’s northeastern coast on Wednesday afternoon.

The storm is then expected to approach China’s Fujian province on Thursday, bringing further strong winds and heavy rain to a country already hard hit by weeks of heavy rain and devastating flooding.

Gaemi is currently the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic, with maximum sustained winds of 225 kilometers per hour (140 miles per hour), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).

The quake is expected to make landfall along the coast of Yilan county, not far from the epicenter of a quake that hit Hualien in April. The magnitude 7.4 quake was Taiwan’s strongest in 25 years, injuring more than 1,000 people and destroying buildings.

Taiwan is frequently hit by typhoons and is generally well prepared for the strong winds and heavy rains they bring, especially in cities. At-risk residents tend to live in remote and mountainous areas, especially on the eastern side of the island, where landslides can pose a major risk.

Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CMA) issued sea and land typhoon warnings for the entire island of Taiwan as Gami’s strong winds were expected to further strengthen to 240 kph (150 mph).

Heavy rains have pounded Taiwan before the typhoon made landfall on Wednesday, with between 265 mm (10.4 inches) and 417 mm (16.4 inches) of rain already reported in the country’s mountainous regions. Well over 500 mm (20 inches) of rain could fall in the central mountainous areas of Taiwan, the CMA said.

Typhoon Gaemi is strengthening in the Pacific Ocean, where waters are some of the warmest on record, as scientists find that the man-made climate crisis is warming oceans and causing the storm to intensify more rapidly.

Typhoon Gemy, the first storm to affect Taiwan this season, has strengthened by 96 kph (60 mph) in the past 24 hours, well above the definition of rapid strengthening of 56 kph (35 mph) in 24 hours.

Most Taiwanese cities, including the capital Taipei, the semiconductor manufacturing hub Hsinchu and the southern city of Kaohsiung, closed schools and offices on Wednesday, and Taiwan Railways suspended some express train services.

Taiwan’s three major airlines – EVA Air, China Airlines and Starlux Airlines – also announced disruptions due to the typhoon, with dozens of flights cancelled on Wednesday and Thursday.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said the typhoon had forced changes to the annual five-day Han Kuang military drills, the country’s biggest annual live-fire exercises, as the island’s military grows increasingly wary of the threat of invasion from China.

“In consideration of the typhoon situation, we will adjust some units of the air force and navy,” defence ministry spokesman Sun Liqiang told reporters in Hualien.

Gayemi also ordered the closure of schools and government offices across the Philippines as heavy rains pounded Metro Manila and Luzon. Some flights were canceled and the Philippine Stock Exchange said it would suspend all trading on Wednesday.

Images showed roads and streets in Manila flooded by rains from the storm, with people wading through knee-deep water.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said earlier that more than 770,000 people had been affected in the country’s southern region by the typhoon and southwest monsoon and that 4,500 personnel were on standby to help with search and rescue efforts.

The typhoon is strengthening before making landfall in Taiwan, so it will also be stronger than previously expected when it makes landfall in China on Thursday afternoon local time (early Thursday EST).

Although Gaemi has weakened, it is expected to make landfall in China with the force of a strong Category 1 or low Category 2 hurricane, with sustained winds of 145-160 km/h (90-100 mph).

The strongest winds are expected to occur along the coast of Fujian province, but heavy rain is expected to fall across Fujian, southern Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces for the rest of the week.

By the weekend, remnants of Gami are likely to bring heavy rains to China’s northern provinces, including Henan, Shanxi and Hebei, which have been hit hard by flooding in recent days.

For many in China, the prospect of another major storm bringing more water is a major concern.

Deadly floods and landslides have hit several Chinese provinces over the past two weeks, blocking highways, destroying homes and destroying crops and livestock, causing devastating economic losses and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.

Torrential rains have battered the southern, central and eastern parts of the country, triggering a massive emergency response operation during a flood season that began about two months earlier than normal.

The floods came after a period of extreme heat that made it difficult to grow vital crops and irrigate parts of the central agricultural heartland, after heavy rains inundated tens of thousands of acres of farmland and forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes, state media said.

The flooding in Henan and surrounding areas, along with the double whammy of dry heat and flooding in the space of a few weeks, have contributed to an already devastating period of extreme weather across China that is expected to continue.