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Typhoon Gaemi has killed one person and injured at least 58 in Taiwan, which has cancelled flights and closed schools and offices ahead of the storm's expected landfall later today.
Gaemi has already killed 12 people in the Philippines on its way past the country, adding to flooding and landslides from already high monsoon rainfall, and the Philippines' national forecaster says it could intensify further into a super typhoon before its landfall in Taiwan.
Taipei's mayor urged citizens to "stay at home" in a public notice yesterday. “This could be the biggest typhoon in recent years,” fishing boat captain Hung Chun told Reuters.
The extreme weather has already disrupted the ongoing military drills and prompted authorities to close financial markets.
Almost all domestic flights and 201 international flights are cancelled. Rail operations will stop, but high-speed trains will still run. In China, several operators have already announced cancellations for trains tomorrow. Gaemi is due to reach China late on Thursday or Friday.
Key Points
- One dead and 58 injured in Taiwan amid extreme weather brought by Typhoon Gaemi
- Typhoon Gaemi/Carina path tracker
- Typhoon Gaemi could reach 'super typhoon' category before landfall
- Philippines death toll rises to 12
More than 4,000 evacuated from high-risk landslide areas in Taiwan
The government said more than 4,000 people had been evacuated from sparsely populated mountain areas.
The evacuations took place in three northern regions, particularly Hualien – a mountainous area with high risk of landslides.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence said it had put 29,000 soldiers on standby for disaster relief efforts.
Stuti Mishra24 July 2024 09:11 1721806264One dead and 58 injured in Taiwan amid extreme weather brought by Typhoon Gaemi
Extreme weather brought by Typhoon Gaemi claims its first fatality in Taiwan as one person died after getting crushed by a falling tree in the southern city of Kaohsiung, the fire department said.
Officials also reported that another 58 people were injured.
Typhoon Gaemi is expected to make landfall tonight but it is already lashing the island nation with heavy gusts of wind and rainfall.
In the Philippines, where the outer rings of the typhoon have been intensifying rainfall this week, 12 people have been confirmed dead from flooding and landslide related incidents.
Gaemi is expected to be the strongest storm to hit Taiwan in eight years.
Restaurants in Taipei prepare for typhoon force winds
Stuti Mishra24 July 2024 08:16 1721804453Typhoon Gaemi/Carina path tracker
Flight cancellations in Japan
Japanese media said Typhoon Gaemi also cancelled all flights departing from and arriving at Miyako and Ishigaki in Japan's Okinawa prefecture, which lies in the storm's path.
In Taiwan, all domestic flights and over 200 international flights have been cancelled as the typhoon has intensified rainfall and is set to make landfall this evening.
China has cancelled a large number of train services ahead of the typhoon's arrival there tomorrow.
Stuti Mishra24 July 2024 07:45 1721802643In photos: Heavy rain and winds hit Taipei
China suspends trains ahead of Typhoon Gaemi
China Railway Nanchang Group has suspended all its passenger trains tomorrow in Fujian province ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Gaemi, state media reports.
Earlier, Shenzen's rail authority suspended 260 trains for Thursday.
Typhoon Gaemi will make landfall in Taiwan today and then head towards China’s Fujian province, which is already hit hard by weeks of extreme rain and deadly flooding.
Stuti Mishra24 July 2024 07:10 1721800307Video: Muddy flood gushes downhill stalling drivers in typhoon Gaemi-hit region of the Philippines
Live: Taiwan braces for Typhoon Gaemi as flights cancelled, markets closed
Philippines death toll rises to 12
The death toll from heavy rainfall, landslides and floods in the Philippines has risen to 12 as rescuers dig out bodies of people who were buried.
Gaemi, which was called Carina in the Philippines, did not make landfall in the archipelago but enhanced its seasonal monsoon rains. The rains set off at least a dozen landslides and floods over five days, killing at least eight and displacing 600,000 people, including 35,000 who went to emergency shelters, the Philippines' disaster risk mitigation agency said.
A landslide buried a rural shanty Tuesday in Agoncillo town in Batangas province, and the bodies of a pregnant woman and three children, aged 9 to 15, were dug out this morning.
Rainfall inundated roads overnight and government work and school classes were suspended in the densely populated region around the Philippine capital.
People were seen wading through knee- and waist-high floodwaters with some using improvised dinghies and paddling their way alongside cars, trucks and SUVs.
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