Gaemi made landfall around midnight (1600 GMT Wednesday) on the northeastern coast of Taiwan in Yilan county.
Nature Of The Typhoon
It is the strongest typhoon to hit the island in eight years.
The Central Weather Administration said the typhoon was packing gusts of up to 227 kph (141 mph) before weakening.
As of 17:00 p.m. (0900 GMT), Gaemi had crossed the Taiwan Strait and was looming over China’s coastal Fujian province.
Gaemi would be the biggest typhoon to hit China’s eastern seaboard this year, with its spiralling cloud-bands spanning most of the Western Pacific Ocean.
It has fuelled severe weather from the Philippines to Japan’s Okinawa islands.
Impact Of The Typhoon
In Taiwan, the storm cut power to around half a million households, though most are now back online, utility Taipower said.
Some parts of southern Taiwan are expected to have recorded accumulated rainfall of 2,200 mm (87 inches) since Tuesday.
The typhoon is expected to bring more rain across Taiwan in its wake.
Precautionary Measures
Offices, schools and financial markets will be closed for a second day on Thursday.
Trains will be stopped until 3 p.m. (0700 GMT) and all domestic flights and 195 international flights cancelled for the day.
The high speed train linking north and south Taiwan will re-open at 2 p.m. (0600 GMT.
Casualties And Damage To Property
The government said that three people have died and 380 injured due to the typhoon.
Taiwanese television stations showed pictures of flooded streets in cities and counties across the island.
Li Li-chuan, 55, saw the roof of her restaurant blow off in the northeastern Taiwanese city of Suao.
“I was frightened,” she told Reuters. “It was the strongest in years. I was worried that the roof would hit other people.”
Taiwan’s fire department said a Tanzania-flagged freighter with nine Myanmar nationals on board had sunk off the coast of the southern port city of Kaohsiung.
The crew had not responded.
At this point, search efforts are on.
China Next
Chinese weather forecasters said Gaemi will pass through Fujian province later on Thursday and head inland, gradually moving northward with less intensity.
In addition to this, weather forecasters are expecting heavy rain in many areas as it tracks north.
Advisories
Moreover, government officials have already prepared for heavy rain and flooding.
They have issued advisories and warnings in the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang.
As a result, government officials in Fujian have relocated about 1,50,000 people, mainly from coastal fishing communities.
Officials in Zhoushan in Zhejiang suspended passenger waterway routes for up to three days, as gale force winds picked up
Airports in Fuzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian, and Wenzhou in Zhejiang, cancelled more flights. according to the VariFlight app.
Guangzhou rail officials suspended some trains that pass through typhoon-affected areas, according to CCTV.
Heavy rain
Meanwhile, north China is experiencing heavy rain from summer storms around a separate weather system.
Some areas in Beijing experienced heavy rain.
Beijing Daily reported that more than 25,000 persons were rescued following activation of emergency plans.
In this situation, some train services were also suspended at the Beijing West Railway Station.
