Typhoon Koinu causes winds of “record” force

Typhoon Koinu grazed southern Taiwan on Thursday October 5. Its passage caused torrential rains and record winds of more than 340 km/h, the territory’s weather services reported. “Wind gusts of up to 95.2 meters per second were measured on Orchid Island”inhabited mainly by farmers and fishermen, “last night, which is a new record for Taiwan”they noted.

More than 200 international and domestic flights were canceled and 3,000 people evacuated from mountainous regions as a precaution before the arrival of the typhoon, the second to hit the territory in a month. In Taitung County, streets were deserted Thursday and rain fell, the wind blowing away road signs and tearing off metal roofs.

The typhoon was initially expected to hit the southern island of Taiwan, but “its trajectory deviated further south”, according to the weather services. Experts point out that climate change has made it more difficult to predict the path of tropical storms, while increasing their intensity, leading to heavy rains or flash floods. After the Taiwan region, Typhoon Koinu is expected to head towards the eastern coast of China’s Guangdong province, which includes the city of Guangzhou, according to the Hong Kong Meteorological Observatory.