Powerful typhoon Kong-rey leaves at least one dead, 73 injured

Powerful Typhoon Kong-rey, one of the strongest that Taiwan has seen in recent years, made landfall at midday in Chenggong, and has already killed at least one person and left 73 injured, according to a first assessment from the authorities.

The typhoon, accompanied by gusts reaching 184 km/h and torrential rains, made landfall at around 1:40 p.m. local time in the southeast of the island, the least populated part of this island of 23 million inhabitants already plagued by the monsoon, and where many people have already been evacuated.

The victim is a 56-year-old woman who died after an uprooted tree fell on her vehicle in Nantou County, the agency said.

Even before the storm arrived, waves up to ten meters high were observed and at least 27 people were injured by the weather, including mudslides, the National Fire Agency said.

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.

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.

More than a meter of rain could fall by Friday in the most affected regions.

Forecasters have warned of “destructive” winds from Kong-rey, and nearly 35,000 troops are standing by to take part in relief operations.

As of Wednesday, dozens of ferry routes and domestic flights had been canceled and authorities had carried out evacuations in eight counties and cities, including Yilan, Hualien and Taitung.

The storm is expected to weaken once it reaches land and move toward the central mountains before exiting across the Taiwan Strait, according to Chu Mei-lin of the Central Meteorological Administration, who said it is expected to “severely” affect the island through Friday morning.

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.

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.