Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life.
Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed.
Photo: CNA
The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed.
It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most powerful storm to hit Taiwan in eight years when it made landfall in July, but Kong-rey’s radius of 320km made it the biggest in nearly three decades.
The storm weakened to a “moderate typhoon” with wind speeds of nearly 155kph as it swept across the Central Mountain Range, CWA forecaster Huang En-hong (黃恩鴻) said.
Photo: CNA
By 6:40pm, the eye of the storm had crossed into the Taiwan Strait west of Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮), although its wind radius still encompassed the entirety of Taiwan proper, as well as Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang counties, the CWA said.
Taiwan proper is expected to be outside the wind radius by early this morning, although it is still expected to affect Lienchiang County as it travels north-northeast through the Taiwan Strait, the agency said.
A foreigner was killed in Nantou County when a falling tree struck her truck at about 1pm on Provincial Highway 14A, close to Renai Township (仁愛).
Photo: Cheng I-hwa, AFP
After striking the roof of the truck, first responders found the vehicle’s 76-year-old male driver, surnamed Lin (林), with his legs pinned by the steering wheel, although he was able to move himself into an ambulance when freed, authorities said.
However, a 56-year-old woman in the passenger seat went into out-of-hospital cardiac arrest from her injuries, authorities said.
The woman was pronounced dead yesterday afternoon.
Photo courtesy of the Hualien Fire Department
Officials did not state her nationality.
Two Czech tourists were reported missing after entering Taroko National Park in Hualien County, but were later found.
As of 8pm last night, the typhoon had injured 205 people across the nation, the Central Emergency Operation Center said, adding that 9,658 people had been evacuated and 91 emergency shelters had been set up in 12 administrative regions, with 1,822 people sheltering at them.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
There were 3,688 incidents of downed trees and other damage, with 1,917 rectified last night, mostly in Taoyuan, Kaohsiung, Hualien and Taitung, the center said.
There were 34 areas affected by flooding — 17 in Hualien and 14 in Yilan County, it said, adding that 137,000 homes had no power.
By evening, 763.5mm of rain had been recorded in Yilan County, 750mm in Hualien County and 653mm in mountainous areas of Taichung, CWA Forecast Center Director Lin Po-tung (林伯東) said.
Winds of 17 on the Beaufort scale (greater than 200kph) were recorded on Green (綠島) and Orchid (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) islands, while southern Hualien County, northern Taitung County and Penghu County recorded winds of up to 16 on the scale, Lin said.
Hualien County was experiencing “very serious” flooding, with rescues and evacuations still under way, said Wang Ming-chung, section chief at the county’s fire department.
“We are also handling incidents of falling signboards hitting people and fallen trees on roads,” Wang said.
Classes and work were canceled for a second day in some mountainous communities across Taiwan, but most areas announced a return to work and school.
More than 400 domestic and international flights were canceled, while all ferry services were suspended and more than 250,000 homes were without power.
Rainfall for the week to today could top 1m in the hardest-hit areas along the east coast, as the seasonal monsoon also drenched the nation earlier in the week.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert scheduled for yesterday night at Taipei Arena was postponed until noon tomorrow due to the typhoon, his agency announced in the afternoon.
Anyone unable to attend the rescheduled event can get a full refund, with the service charge waived, but tickets cannot be transferred to others, said SuperDome (超級圓頂), the event organizer.
Applications for refunds are to last until 11:59pm on Wednesday next week, it said.
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