Climateupdated 47m ago2 min read
Typhoon Champi Forces Taiwan To Cancel 600 Flights, Evacuate 1,000, Shuts Schools
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Taiwan canceled 931 flights domestically and internationally due to Champi. Schools and offices were shut across much of Taiwan.
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The New York Times“Supported by For Taiwan’s Mayors, a ‘Typhoon Day Off’ Is a Major Political Test”
“The transport ministry said all 262 domestic flights were cancelled for Friday, along with 669 international ones.”
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Typhoon Champi shuts Taiwan
Typhoon Champi forced Taiwan to cancel more than 600 flights on Friday, with Taiwan’s transport ministry saying all 262 domestic flights and more than 350 international services were cancelled. Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration placed the storm’s centre approximately 330 kilometres east of the island’s southern tip on Friday, and gusts of around 191 km/h were reported near the storm’s centre. The storm killed one person after being swept away by waves, and authorities said it injured 171 people and forced 1,000 others to evacuate.
Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration forecast that Champi would bring 90cm of rain and strong winds to the north-east until Saturday, while schools and offices were shut across most of the island. Japan’s Okinawa prefecture reported power cuts in nearly 8,400 households as Champi approached its southwestern islands, and more than 160 flights were cancelled across four Japanese airlines.
Evacuations, injuries, and alerts
Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operations Center said Typhoon Champi left one person dead and 94 injured as the storm moved closer, with the death occurring in Liuqiu Township, Pingtung County.
The CEOC said police received a report around noon Thursday that a man had been swept away, and rescuers found him without vital signs around 2 p.m.
The CEOC said the number of injured rose to 94 as of 6 a.m., up 52 from Thursday night, and it said 30 injuries involved motorcycle or other traffic accidents.
The CEOC said as of 8 a.m. 1,286 people had been evacuated nationwide, including 576 in Hualien County and 351 in Yilan County.
The Central Weather Administration data described Champi’s maximum sustained winds of 155 kph and gusts of up to 191 kph, while the CEOC warned of high waves along the coast caused by the storm’s outer bands.
El Niño backdrop and fallout
Taiwan’s shutdown and travel disruption unfolded as the BBC described Champi as the latest in a string of intense typhoons as a Super El Niño heats up the Pacific Ocean and fuels storms. The BBC said Champi was forecast to hover over the waters off China’s eastern coast before curving farther to the north-east to Japan’s main island, while weather agencies forecast the eye would pass without making landfall in Taiwan. The Straits Times said Taipower reported more than 77,000 homes had lost power and that electricity had already been restored to most of them, as it also reported one person was killed and 163 were injured.
The Straits Times said the Transport Ministry cancelled all 262 domestic flights and more than 700 international ones for Oct 23, while it also reported coastal towns received mobile phone alerts warning of gusts exceeding 150kmh. The United Nations said Wednesday that the El Niño system gripping the planet had reached record levels, and it called on countries to take urgent action to prepare for the worst-case scenarios.