Typhoon Kong-rey reached the Taiwanese coast, leaving at least one dead and 205 injured, according to an initial report from firefighters. As the island prepared to face one of the biggest storms in recent years, a public holiday was declared this Thursday, October 31, 2024.
The typhoon made landfall on the east coast of Taiwan, a mountainous and sparsely populated region, according to the Taiwanese Central Meteorological Administration relayed by theAFPand torrential rains and strong winds hit the entire island.
A 56-year-old woman died
Uprooted trees fell on cars and blocked roads, hampering response efforts, theAFP an official from a commune in the Hualien region (east), the most severely affected.
A 56-year-old woman died after a tree fell on her vehicle in central Nantou County, the national fire agency said, while 73 other people were injured.
250,000 homes without power
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 like Yilan, Hualien and Taitung regions, according to the National Fire Agency.
Winds over 180 km/h
The power of the typhoon, carrying winds of 184 mph, is equivalent to that of a category 4 hurricane, according to the Tropical Storm Risk agency. Warnings have been issued in the east of the island and more than a meter of rain is expected in the region by Friday.
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.
10 meter waves
Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation said 298 international airline flights and all domestic flights had been canceled. Ferries have also suspended operations. Tens of thousands of troops were mobilized preventively, and Taiwanese authorities closed schools and offices across the island. The streets of Taipei, plagued by heavy rains and strong winds, are largely deserted.
Even before its arrival, waves ten meters high were observed and at least 27 people were injured by bad weather, including following mudslides, the National Fire Agency said, without providing further details. .
The island affected until Friday morning
Taiwanese technology giant TSMC said it has “activated the usual typhoon alert preparation procedures” in its chip manufacturing plants and not expect a “significant impact” on its activities.
Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang expressed concern over the fate of two Czech tourists who were hiking in the Taroko Gorge near Hualien and could not be reached on their phones on Wednesday.
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.
