Powerful storm leaves at least one dead, 73 injured in Taiwan

It is the largest typhoon in 30 years and one of the most powerful in recent years.

The powerful typhoon Kong-rey, one of the strongest that Taiwan has experienced in recent years, caused the death of at least one person and left 73 injured on Thursday, October 31, according to an initial report from the authorities. The typhoon, accompanied by gusts reaching 184 km/h and torrential rain, made landfall at around 1:40 p.m. (local time) in the southeast of the island, already in the grip of the monsoon.

A 56-year-old woman died after a tree fell on her vehicle in Nantou County, the National Fire Agency said, while 73 other people were injured. Even before the storm arrived, waves 10 m high had been observed and at least 27 people had been injured, particularly after mudslides.

Originally described as the strongest typhoon of the year, Kong-rey now has the same intensity as Typhoon Gaemi, the strongest storm to hit Taiwan in the past eight years, when it arrived in July. With a radius of 320 km, Typhoon Kong-rey is considered the largest to make landfall in nearly 30 years.