Taiwan shuts down as deadly Typhoon Gaemi makes landfall

YILAN: Typhoon Gaemi made landfall on Taiwan’s eastern coast in the early hours of Thursday, after unleashing torrential rainfall and whipping winds across the island that left two people dead.

On its path to Taiwan, Gaemi had also exacerbated seasonal rains in nearby Philippines, triggering flooding and landslides that killed six.

The superstorm hit Taiwan’s eastern Yilan County at around 12:00 am local time Thursday (1600 GMT Wednesday), said the Central Weather Administration. “Wind and rain continue to intensify, posing a threat to various parts of Taiwan, (and its outlying islands of) Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu,” it said, calling on the public to “be on high alert”.

The first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan this year, Gaemi was “expected to be the strongest” one in eight years, a government forecaster told AFP. It had caused downpours and strong gusts across Taiwan before its arrival, killing one motorist in southern Kaohsiung city who was crushed by a falling tree, and a woman in eastern Hualien, authorities said.

More than 200 people were injured by Wednesday evening, while more than 290,000 homes were plunged into darkness due to power outages, disaster officials said.

The weather also forced the self-ruled island to cancel some of its annual Han Kuang war games -- which test preparedness for a Chinese invasion -- though an anti-landing drill went ahead as scheduled on Wednesday morning on Penghu, west of Taiwan’s main island.