The typhoon, accompanied by gusts reaching 184 km/h and torrential rain, made landfall at around 1:40 p.m. local time (5:40 a.m. GMT) in the southeast of the territory, the least populated part of this island of 23 million inhabitants already in prey in the monsoon.
Uprooted trees fell on cars and blocked roads, hampering intervention efforts, an official from a commune in the Hualien region (east), the most affected, told AFP.
A 56-year-old woman died after a tree fell on her vehicle in central Nantou County, the national fire agency said, while 205 other people were injured.
Even before the arrival of the storm, waves ten meters high were observed and at least 27 people were injured by the bad weather, notably following mudslides, said the same agency.
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 kilometers, Kong-rey is considered the largest to make landfall in nearly 30 years.
It then weakened to become a “moderate typhoon” with winds of nearly 155 km/h as it crossed the mountains along the center of the island, before passing over the Taiwan Strait in the early evening, said forecaster Huang En-hong.
– Schools and offices closed –
Schools and offices were closed across Taiwan on Thursday as residents prepared to weather the storm.
Taiwanese technology giant TSMC said it had “activated usual typhoon alert preparedness procedures” at its chip manufacturing plants and did not expect a “significant impact” on its operations.
The streets of Taipei, plagued by heavy rains and strong winds, are largely deserted.
Winds and rains intensified after the eye of the typhoon passed the eastern city of Chenggong, according to a local firefighting official.
County fire chief Wang Ming-chung said flooding was “very serious” in the nearby city of Hualien, and rescues and evacuations were still underway.
“We are also dealing with incidents of falling traffic signs hitting people and trees falling on the roads,” Wang told AFP.
Forecasters have warned of “destructive” winds from Kong-rey, and nearly 35,000 troops are ready to take part in relief operations.
At least 34 mudslides were recorded, 162 buildings were damaged and 366 trees fell, according to the National Fire Agency.
– More than 11,900 people evacuated –
More than 400 domestic and international flights were canceled, all ferry services were suspended and more than 250,000 homes were left without power.
Authorities have already evacuated more than 11,900 people in the most vulnerable places such as Yilan, Hualien and Taitung regions, according to the National Fire Agency.
Taiwan is used to tropical storms, frequent from July to October, but it is “unusual for such a powerful typhoon to hit the island this late in the year,” notes meteorologist Chang Chun-yao.
Climate change is increasing their intensity, with heavy downpours, flash floods and very strong gusts of wind, scientists say.
Kong-rey will be the third typhoon to hit Taiwan since July.
This summer, Gaemi killed ten people and injured hundreds, causing widespread flooding in the southern city of Kaohsiung.
This typhoon was followed by Krathon, which swept across southern Taiwan in early October, accompanied by destructive winds, flooding and mudslides that left at least four dead and hundreds injured.
Source: AFP
