A powerful typhoon, the most severe to hit Taiwan in eight years, resulted in the deaths of three people and severe flooding in parts of the island’s second-largest city on Thursday.
According to AFP, rescue efforts are ongoing for nine sailors who went missing after their cargo ship sank during the storm.
Typhoon Gaemi, now approaching mainland China’s southeastern coast, has prompted the highest-tier disaster warning in the region.
Over 150,000 residents in China’s southern Fujian province have been evacuated, with authorities bracing for the impact on an area already experiencing record rainfall in 2024.
In southern Kaohsiung, Gaemi turned streets into rivers, flooding homes.
Schools and offices in multiple cities remained closed for a second day, with the stock market shut down and thousands evacuated.
The typhoon also worsened seasonal rains in the Philippines, causing floods and landslides that claimed 20 lives.
Additionally, a tanker carrying 1.4 million liters of oil sank off Manila, sparking efforts to contain the spill.
By Thursday morning, the storm had weakened and moved out to sea around 4:20 am (2020 GMT), according to Taiwan’s weather authorities.
Taiwan’s fire agency reported a cargo ship sinking off the island’s southwestern coast early Thursday, with its nine Myanmar crew members abandoning ship in life jackets.
Head of the fire agency, Hsiao Huan-chang, stated, “They fell into the sea and were floating there,” and rescuers contacted a nearby Taiwanese cargo ship for assistance. The rescue ship arrived at 8:35 am (0035 GMT) but faced low visibility and strong winds.
A rescue aircraft from Kaohsiung reached the scene at 3:30 pm (0730 GMT), and the search continues, a National Fire Agency official later confirmed.
In Pingtung county, an Indonesian freighter anchored at a beach during the storm was shown on local TV footage being battered by massive waves.
Taiwan’s Coast Guard reported the crew was safe, “with no loss of power and oil leakage.”
Typhoon Gaemi made landfall in Taiwan on Wednesday night with peak sustained wind speeds of 190 kilometers (118 miles) per hour.
The storm left at least three people dead and approximately 3,300 injured.
A motorist in Kaohsiung was crushed by a tree, and a woman in Hualien was killed by a falling building part.
Later, a third fatality was confirmed in Kaohsiung due to mudslides that hit two houses, trapping two individuals. One woman was rescued, but the second person did not survive.
Taiwan’s defense ministry announced that its annual Han Kuang war games had ended a day early, with some drills already canceled due to the weather, and troops were redirected to assist with disaster relief.
Hundreds of flights, both domestic and international, were canceled again due to the storm.
Gaemi is now heading towards China’s Fujian province, where all train services have been suspended, and the second-highest flood warning alert level has been issued.
China’s national water resources ministry warned of extremely heavy rains expected to swell rivers and lakes in Fujian and neighboring Zhejiang province.
In Manila, clean-up operations were underway on Thursday, with residents and business owners clearing soaked debris from the streets.
One business owner lamented, “All my capital is gone… I have nothing now, that’s my only livelihood.”
The region frequently faces tropical storms from July to October, but experts suggest climate change is intensifying these events, leading to heavier rains, flash floods, and stronger winds.
