This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A powerful typhoon pounded Taiwan on Friday as authorities warned of "destructive winds" and urged locals to shelter from the storm. Typhoon Champi dumped heavy rain, toppled trees and knocked out power to thousands of households as it swept past Taiwan's northeast on the way to China and Japan.
Most shops and schools were shut across Taiwan, hundreds of flights were canceled and more than 4,300 people were evacuated from their homes ahead of the fierce storm. One person has been killed in Taiwan after being swept away by waves whipped up by the typhoon, authorities said. At least 350 people have been injured.
"From tonight through tomorrow morning conditions will be very windy and stormy everywhere," Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Ling Ping-yu told a briefing. "Please try to stay indoors during this period for your safety." Government text messages sent as Champi buffeted northern Taiwan Friday night warned of "destructive winds" and urged people to "take shelter ASAP." Champi is the latest in a busy Pacific storm season turbocharged by the El Niño weather phenomenon that has caused unprecedented warming in the equatorial Pacific. The storm was briefly a super typhoon as it crossed the ocean, with reported maximum sustained wind speeds of nearly 300 kilometers (186 miles) per hour, but has since weakened.
It gathered strength as it neared Taiwan on Friday afternoon and now has maximum speeds of 185 kph (115 miles per hour), according to the latest update from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Thousands of military personnel are on standby to assist with rescue efforts, and authorities are racing to restore power to more than 21,000 households. "As it approaches Taiwan's northeastern tip... the typhoon may slow down.
If it slows down, its impact will last longer," CWA's Lu Kuo-chen said. Stores were closed on Japan's southwestern island of Ishigaki, near Taiwan, and business owners draped windproof nets over their shops in an attempt to protect them from the strong winds. Some tourists were also stranded due to flight cancellations, with many sheltering inside hotels.
"Lot of shops and restaurants were still open yesterday, and I could stock up on food, but there's not much information online about the typhoon and what to do," said Laura Czypulovski, 33, who lives in Zurich. "It is now a pain to get back home—especially because it impacts my following flights, and then it caused a lot of rebooking." Professional storm chaser James Reynolds posted a video on X from Ishigaki showing a "fierce storm tide" in a channel leading to the island's harbor as Champi's strong winds whipped across the water. "I'm seeing the ocean do things I've not seen in 20 years of doing this!!" Reynolds said in the post.
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