Powerful Typhoon Gaemi hits Taiwan, expected to drench an already soaked China

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By Helen Regan, Taylor Ward, Eric Cheung and Isaac Yee, CNN

Taipei, Taiwan (CNN) — A powerful typhoon made landfall in northeastern Taiwan early on Thursday, killing at least two people and injuring hundreds of others as authorities closed financial markets, schools and offices.

Conditions in Taiwan worsened as Typhoon Gaemi brought heavy rainfall, gusty winds and a dangerous storm surge. It reached land in Yilan County with sustained winds up to 205 kph (125 mph), equal to a Category 3 major hurricane in the Atlantic.

The typhoon is expected to move over the Taiwan Strait Thursday before making landfall in mainland China’s Fujian province, bringing more strong winds and downpours to a country already hit hard by weeks of extreme rain and deadly flooding.

A woman riding a motorcycle in Taiwan’s southern Kaohsiung City was crushed to death by a fallen tree, and a woman in eastern Hualien was hit by a parapet that fell from the roof of a house, Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operations Center reported. More than 200 others were wounded.

The rapidly intensifying storm had been expected to strengthen into a super typhoon before making landfall on Taiwan’s northeast coast Wednesday afternoon.

However, it was deflected off its forecast track by Taiwan’s mountainous terrain and spent more than six hours offshore making a loop near the Hualien coastline before making landfall at around midnight.

Hualien, eastern Taiwan’s most populated city, was hit with an additional eight hours of the typhoon’s worst conditions, including winds over 100 mph (160 kph), storm surge, and torrential rainfall. Rainfall totals topped 300 mm (1 foot) in many locations, with mountainous areas receiving over 500 meters (1.5 feet).

The deflection was caused by mountains disrupting the storm’s wind field. The phenomenon has been documented numerous times over the past 60 years in typhoons approaching northeast Taiwan, with several making full loops before eventually moving over land.

Taiwan is often struck by typhoons and has a generally strong track record in preparing for the damaging winds and downpours they can bring, especially in its cities. The more at-risk populations tend to be in remote and mountainous areas, especially on the east side of the island, where landslides can pose a major danger.

Taiwan’s Central Meteorological Agency (CMA) issued a sea and land typhoon warning for the entire main island, while Taiwan President Lai Ching-te urged residents not to make trips unless they can ensure their safety.

Prior to landfall in Taiwan, Typhoon Gaemi strengthened in Pacific waters that have been at their warmest temperatures on record. The first typhoon of the season to affect Taiwan, it strengthened by 96 kph (60 mph) over a 24-hour period, well exceeding the definition of rapid intensification of 56 kph (35 mph) in 24 hours. Scientists have found that hotter oceans caused by the human-caused climate crisis are leading storms to intensify more rapidly.

Most Taiwanese cities closed schools and offices on Wednesday while Taiwan Railways suspended some rapid train services. More than 50,000 households in Kaohsiung were without power.

Dozens of flights and all regular train services have also been canceled for Wednesday and Thursday, with three of Taiwan’s largest carriers – EVA Air, China Airlines and Starlux Airlines – announcing disruptions due to the typhoon.

Taiwan’s defense authorities said they had to modify ongoing annual five-day Han Kuang War Games due to the typhoon. The live-fire drills are the biggest annual military exercises of their kind in Taiwan, where the armed forces are increasingly vigilant against the threat of invasion from China.

“We will adjust some of the air and naval elements given the typhoon situation,” defense ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fiang told reporters in Hualien.

Gaemi has also forced the closure of schools and government offices in the Philippines as heavy rains hit the Manila capital region and the main island of Luzon. Some flights have been canceled and the Philippine Stock Exchange said it would cease all trading Wednesday.

Images show roads and streets in Manila flooded by rains brought by the storm, as people wade through knee-deep water.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said more than 770,000 people have been affected by the typhoon and southwest monsoon in the country’s southern regions, and 4,500 personnel were on standby to assist with search and rescue operations.

More extreme weather misery for China

Though weakened, Gaemi is expected to make landfall in China on Thursday as the equivalent to a strong Category 1 or low-end Category 2 hurricane with sustained winds of 145 to 160 kph (90 to 100 mph.)

The worst of the winds are expected to occur in coastal areas of Fujian province, where boats have moored to take shelter and trains will be suspended Thursday, but heavy rain will spread across Fujian, southern Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces for the rest of the week.

By the weekend, the remnants of Gaemi will likely spread heavy rainfall farther north into areas of China like Henan, Shanxi and Hebei provinces which have been hit hard by flooding in recent days.

For many in China, the prospect of another major storm bringing more water is a big concern.

In the past two weeks, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated across multiple provinces in China following deadly floods and landslides, which have blocked highways, destroyed homes and caused devastating financial losses as they wiped out crops and livestock.

Torrential rainfall hit southern, central and eastern parts of the country and led to major emergency response efforts in a flood season that has started some two months ahead of its typical schedule.

In Henan province, the flooding came after a period of scorching temperatures that complicated efforts to grow and irrigate vital crops in parts of central China’s agricultural heartland. Then, extreme rain inundated tens of thousands of acres of cropland and forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate their homes, according to state media.

The flooding in Henan and surrounding provinces – and the double hit of arid heat and floods in a matter of weeks – has prolonged what has already been a devastating period of extreme weather across China that’s forecast to continue.

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This story has been updated with additional developments. CNN’s Simone McCarthy, Brandon Miller, Robert Shackelford, Manveena Suri and Fred He contributed reporting.