Typhoon Gaemi: At least 8 dead, over 600,000 displaced in the Philippines

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan closed offices, schools and tourist attractions across the country on Wednesday as a powerful typhoon worsened seasonal rains in the Philippines, killing at least 13 people and leaving 600,000 homeless.

The outer reaches of Typhoon Gaemi brought heavy rains to much of Taiwan, where it was expected to make direct landfall in northern Ylan County on Wednesday evening. Fishing boats were recalled to ports due to rough seas, while air travelers rushed to catch overseas flights before the storm hit amid numerous cancellations.

On Wednesday morning, the typhoon was moving east of Taiwan at 18 kilometers per hour with a maximum wind speed of 183 kilometers per hour, the Central Weather Administration said. Heavy rain fell in the capital Taipei, but strong winds had not yet arrived.

Gaemi, known as Carina in the Philippines, did not reach the archipelago’s mainland but intensified seasonal monsoon rains there. The rains triggered at least a dozen landslides and floods in five days, killing at least eight people and leaving 600,000 homeless, including 35,000 who were housed in temporary shelters, the Philippine disaster management agency said.

A landslide buried a rural hut in the hill town of Agoncillo in Batangas province on Tuesday, and the bodies of a pregnant woman and three children, aged 9 to 15, were unearthed on Wednesday morning. In another town in Batangas, a rice porridge seller was hit by a falling tree on Tuesday night, raising the country’s death toll to 13.

Government work and school classes were suspended in the densely populated region around the Philippine capital after incessant rains inundated many areas overnight, stranding cars in rising waters and leaving people stranded in their homes. Residents who ventured out of their homes waded through knee- and waist-high floodwaters, some using improvised inflatable boats and paddling alongside cars, trucks and SUVs.

In the city of Marikina on the eastern edge of the Manila region, persistent rain swelled a large river, prompting many residents to seek safety. The strong current swept away a steel cargo container, refrigerators, furniture and tree trunks, according to Associated Press journalists on the scene.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered authorities to speed up the delivery of food and other relief supplies to remote villages. “People there may not have eaten for days,” Marcos said in a televised emergency meeting.

The Philippine Coast Guard said more than 350 passengers, truck drivers and workers were stranded at seaports after ferries and cargo ships were banned from venturing into rough seas. It added that coast guard personnel helped more than 200 residents evacuate a coastal village in Batangas province, south of Manila, where storm-tossed waves had battered coastal homes.

Because of the storm, air force exercises off Taiwan’s east coast and ferry traffic had to be cancelled on Tuesday.

Despite occasional flooding, Taiwan has significantly improved its resilience through early warning and preparation. The storm’s impact is expected to last through Friday as it moves northwest toward mainland China.

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Associated Press journalists Jim Gomez and Joeal Calupitan in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.