What we know about Typhoon Gaemi that made landfall in Taiwan and is heading towards China

Torrential rains also hit the northern Philippines, triggering floods and landslides.

Taiwan in the heart of the typhoon. On the night of Wednesday to Thursday, July 25, the island was violently hit by Typhoon Gaemi, which formed from a tropical depression off the coast of the Philippines. Franceinfo takes stock of what we know about this extreme weather phenomenon that is affecting several Asia-Pacific countries.

Winds up to 190 km/h and a deviated trajectory

Typhoon Gaemi made landfall in Taiwan on Thursday night, packing winds of up to 190 km/h, equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane.Even before the typhoon hit the island, Huang En-hong, a forecaster with Taiwan’s meteorological service, already estimated to AFP that “Gaemi is expected to be the strongest typhoon in eight years to make landfall in Taiwan since Nepartak in 2016.”.

Taiwan was hit all the harder because the typhoon deviated from the trajectory anticipated by meteorologists, following the island’s mountainous terrain and hitting the coast twice. “After rotating around, Typhoon Gaemi is about to make landfall on the northeastern coast of Taiwan.”says X researcher Brian McNoldy.

On Thursday morning, measured wind gusts slowed slightly, reaching 154 km/h, as the typhoon continued its trajectory out to sea, according to the map from the American weather information company Weather Underground, which tracks the typhoon’s progress in real time.

Gaemi is now heading to Fujian province in southeastern China and is expected to then losing strength inland. Already, huge waves are hitting the Chinese coast.

In Japan, the Okinawan authorities have invited the population to “be very vigilant in the face of storms and strong waves” and flooding.

More than 200 millimeters of rainfall in Manila in 24 hours

Before sweeping across Taiwan, Gaemi also hit the northern Philippines on Wednesday, causing flooding. in the streets of the capital and landslides in the mountainous regions. The government has ordered theevacuation of tens of thousands of people and released emergency funds to help people in need.Poor neighborhoods near the port of Manila have been particularly hard hit, with more than 2,000 people forced to flee their homes.

This area of ​​the globe experiences tropical storms every year from July to October, but experts believe that climate change has increased their intensity. “Usually the peak of the rainy season is in July and August and it so happens that a typhoon in the eastern waters of the Philippines is strengthening the monsoon.”reports Glaiza Escullar, a meteorology expert, to AFP. More than 200 millimeters of precipitation fell on the capital in 24 hours, a level that is not “not unusual”according to her.

More than 8,000 people evacuated in Taiwan

More than 8,000 people have been evacuated from three regions in northern Taiwan, including Hualien, a mountainous area with a high risk of landslides. Taiwanese authorities also declared Wednesday a public holiday for safety reasons. Schools and offices were closed and The stock market was suspended. Trains, ferries and more than 250 international flights were also cancelled.

In anticipation of the typhoon, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te had urged the population to “put safety first”. “Gaemi is the first typhoon this year to make landfall in Taiwanhe stressed to the press. I hope that through our joint efforts, the impact of the typhoon can be reduced (…). I also encourage my fellow citizens across the country not to go out, unless necessary, during the typhoon, and especially not to dangerous places.”he added.

At least two dead in Taiwan and 20 in the Philippines

In Taiwan, the typhoon killed two people before it even made landfall. A motorcyclist was crushed by a falling tree in the southern city of Kaohsiung on Thursday, and a driver was killed when debris fell on her car in the eastern province of Hualien. By the evening, nearly 200 people were injured in Taiwan.

Torrential rains in the Philippines have left 20 dead, according to a new report announced by the police on Thursday. South of Manila, in Batangas province, landslides claimed the lives of a pregnant woman and three children. North of the capital, in Pampanga province, a woman and her 5-year-old child also died in a landslide.

Ten sailors missing and a threat of oil spill

The human toll could rise further.Burmese sailors are missing after a A Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship sank off southern Taiwan, Taiwanese fire officials said Thursday. Another sailor is also missing after the sinking ofan oil tanker off the coast of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

The ship was carrying 1.4 million litres of oil, according to authorities, who are trying to prevent an oil spill. “We are in a race against time and we will do our best to contain it immediately and stop the fuel leak.“The oil spill is the largest in Philippine history,” Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Armando Balilo said in a statement. He said if all the oil in the tanker were to leak, it would be the largest oil spill in Philippine history.