Taiwan prepares for Typhoon Gaemi, stops work and cancels flights

In rural Yilan County, where the typhoon will first make landfall, wind and rain increased in intensity, leaving breakfast restaurants closed and streets largely empty.

“This could be the most severe typhoon in recent years,” fishing boat captain Hung Chun told Reuters, adding that Yilan port in Suao was full of boats seeking shelter.

“It’s heading straight toward the east coast and if it makes landfall here, the damage would be enormous.”

Work and school operations were suspended across Taiwan, and in the capital Taipei, streets were almost deserted during the usual rush hour amid gusty rain.

The Ministry of Transport announced that almost all domestic flights and 27 international flights had been cancelled.

However, TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a key Apple supplier, expects all of its factories to maintain normal production during the typhoon, adding that routine preparation procedures have been initiated.

SOLDIERS ARE THERE

In some mountainous counties in central and southern Taiwan, total rainfall of up to 1,800 millimeters is expected during the typhoon, the weather agency said.

More than 2,000 people have been evacuated from sparsely populated mountainous regions, the government said. There is a high risk of landslides in these regions due to the “extremely torrential rains.”

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said it was ready to assist in disaster relief and had placed its armed forces on alert.

Although this year’s Han Kuang War Games were severely affected by the typhoon, they were not cancelled entirely. On Wednesday morning, live-fire exercises took place as planned on the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait.

The typhoon is expected to make landfall in Fujian, China, late Thursday evening.

Gaemi, whose cloud system stretches across the western Pacific, northern Philippines and parts of the South China Sea, is then expected to move north, bringing rain to provinces such as Hubei, Henan and even Hebei.

As Gaemi moves over land, it will lose strength and structure, but its remnants could still bring days of rain to northern Chinese provinces, which were hit by historic rainfall following a typhoon just a year ago and suffered enormous economic damage.

Gaemi and a southwest monsoon brought heavy rains to the Philippine capital region and northern provinces on Wednesday, prompting authorities to halt work and classes while suspending stock and foreign exchange trading.

Gaemi and a southwest monsoon brought heavy rains to the Philippine capital region and northern provinces on Wednesday, prompting authorities to halt work and classes while suspending stock and foreign exchange trading.

While typhoons can be extremely destructive, Taiwan also relies on them to replenish water reserves after the traditionally drier winter months, particularly in the southern part of the island.