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Tropical Cyclone Gemi is expected to become the strongest storm to hit Taiwan in eight years and will make landfall on the northeastern coast on Wednesday evening, the weather department said.
They upgraded it to a severe typhoon, with wind gusts near its center reaching 227 km/h (141 mph).
The typhoon is likely to hit China’s southeastern province of Fujian late Thursday afternoon after passing through the Taiwan Strait.
One person was crushed to death by falling trees in the southern city of Kaohsiung, the fire department said, adding that 58 others were injured.
“The next 24 hours will be very challenging,” Taiwan’s Premier Chao Jung-tai said at a teleconference at the emergency response center.
In the rural areas of Yilan County, where the typhoon first made landfall, wind and rain grew stronger, most roads were empty, and restaurants were forced to close.
“This may be the biggest typhoon in recent years,” fishing boat captain Hong Jun told Reuters, adding that the port of Su’ao in Yilan County was crowded with ships seeking shelter.
“It’s heading directly for the East Coast and if it makes landfall here the damage will be huge.”
Work and classes were suspended across Taiwan, and the streets of the capital Taipei were almost empty.
The government said more than 4,000 people were evacuated in sparsely populated mountainous areas with a higher risk of landslides due to “extremely heavy rains”.
The Ministry of Transport said nearly all domestic flights and 227 international flights were canceled.
The Taiwan Railways added that all rail operations would be stopped from noon (04:00 GMT), with high-speed rail trains between north and south Taiwan continuing to operate on a reduced schedule.
However, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co 2330.TW, the world’s largest contract chip maker and a major supplier to Apple Inc AAPL.O, said it expected its factories to maintain normal production during the typhoon after launching routine preparations.
Japanese media said the typhoon also canceled all flights departing from and arriving at Miyako Island and Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, which are in the typhoon’s path.
Soldiers on standby
The typhoon is expected to bring up to 1,800 millimeters (70 inches) of rain to some mountainous counties in central and southern Taiwan, weather officials said.
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it has deployed 29,000 soldiers on standby to participate in disaster relief work.
The typhoon severely affected this year’s Han Kuang military exercises, but the exercises were not canceled and live-fire drills were scheduled to be held on Wednesday on the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait.
Typhoon Gemi is expected to bring heavy to torrential rains to large swathes of China starting Thursday, the Ministry of Water Resources warned.
It is reported that due to the abundant moisture from the typhoon, the rainfall is expected to continue until July 31.
The Gemmy and southwest monsoons brought heavy rains to the Philippine capital region and northern provinces on Wednesday, shutting down work and schools and suspending stock and foreign exchange trading. The storms killed 12 people.
Despite their destructive power, Taiwan relies on typhoons to replenish reservoirs, especially in the southern region.
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