Taiwan issues warnings as Typhoon Champi nears

Typhoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday, killing one person and injuring more than 500 others as the storm weakened and turned north toward the Chinese coast. The system, which had earlier been classified as a super typhoon and ranked among the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, maintained gusts of approximately 126 kilometers per hour near its center according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration. The storm made its closest approach to the island’s northeast coast in the early hours of Saturday, positioned roughly 150 kilometers east of the mainland. Its forecast trajectory indicates a path northward along the Chinese coastline before ultimately moving into southern Japan. The death occurred on the island of Liuqiu, where a man was swept away by high waves, according to the Taiwan Fire Department. A total of 527 individuals suffered injuries during the period of heavy winds and torrential rain. Power infrastructure sustained significant damage, with Taipower reporting that more than 167,000 homes lost electricity. Most of these connections had been restored by later in the day. Local United Daily News cited figures suggesting 280,000 households were initially disconnected, with 80 percent of the grid back online by Saturday morning. Travel disruptions persisted throughout the weekend. The Transport Ministry reported 259 flight cancellations on Saturday, a decrease from the nearly 1,000 cancellations recorded on Friday. Schools and government offices in Taipei and several districts in northern and central Taiwan implemented a second consecutive day of closures. Emergency crews worked to clear fallen trees and debris from streets in the capital, particularly in Keelung, where large waves struck seawalls. Prior to reaching Taiwan, the typhoon triggered widespread preparations across the region. On Thursday, authorities issued land warnings and canceled more than 100 flights, primarily domestic routes. The storm was located approximately 250 kilometers southeast of Yilan County at that time. Mobile phone alerts warned coastal towns of waves exceeding six meters, while forecasts predicted total rainfall of nearly one meter in northern mountain areas, including hills near Taipei. More than 23,000 military personnel were placed on standby for rescue operations. The storm’s intensity fluctuated significantly during its approach. It began as a super typhoon with maximum sustained winds nearing 300 kilometers per hour. As it moved closer to land, it weakened to 213 kilometers per hour, then further to 155 kilometers per hour upon arrival. Despite the reduction in speed, the system retained a storm radius of 320 kilometers, an area large enough to cover most of Taiwan. Forecasts indicated the typhoon would dump up to 900 millimeters of rain in the mountainous regions of northern and northeastern Taiwan between Thursday and Saturday. Beyond Taiwan, the storm impacted neighboring nations. In China, the Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level Four emergency response, the lowest tier in the national hierarchy, for flooding in Shanghai and the coastal provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian. Officials warned of heavy to torrential downpours from Friday to Sunday, specifically affecting most of Shanghai and eastern Zhejiang. Chinese authorities dispatched a team to Zhejiang province, deploying 400 rescue workers and 600 pieces of equipment, while placing over 41,000 firefighters on emergency duty. Japan faced substantial travel disruptions as the typhoon tracked toward its southwestern islands. Major carriers Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, and Skymark canceled more than 110 flights between Thursday and Saturday, affecting over 11,000 passengers. The storm was expected to pass over Yonaguni, the westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa Prefecture. On Ishigaki Island, one person was injured and nearly 2,000 homes lost power. The Philippines also reacted to the approaching system by suspending ferry services and flights in affected zones. Residents in Cagayan province were evacuated as a precautionary measure. Meteorologists linked the heightened activity in the Pacific to the El Niño weather phenomenon, which has driven unprecedented warming in the equatorial Pacific. The United Nations stated that the current El Niño event is heading off historical records, urging countries to prepare for severe impacts. While the warming phase is expected to peak in December, officials noted that the human consequences of the resulting weather patterns could persist into 2027 and beyond. Concurrent with the typhoon activity in the Western Pacific, Hurricane Trudy threatened Mexico’s Pacific coast. As the 22nd named system of the active Pacific season, Trudy remained a Category 2 hurricane located roughly 100 miles southwest of the Mexican coast. This positioning kept the worst conditions offshore, though the US National Hurricane Center issued hurricane warnings for coastal areas in the states of Jalisco, Michoacan, and Colima. Sustained winds of 60 to 90 miles per hour were forecast for Sunday, alongside rainfall totals of 100 to 150 millimeters, raising risks of flooding, landslides, and storm surges. By Monday morning, Trudy had weakened to a tropical storm, leading to the lifting of coastal warnings. Elsewhere, severe weather claimed lives in Europe and Asia. In Greece, heavy rain and thunderstorms caused fatal flooding across Rhodes, Evia, and the Sporades islands. A station in Rhodes recorded 202 millimeters of rain between 3:30 am and 9:50 am UTC on October 14. Regional authorities conducted more than 30 rescue operations, and the coast guard reported that four passenger vehicles were swept into the sea. Two cars were washed away on Skiathos. In Istanbul, Turkey, five people died due to severe flooding following heavy rain on October 14 and 15. The precipitation caused school closures, flight delays, and landslides across multiple provinces. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality recorded 242 millimeters of rain in the Beykoz district. Approximately 600 people required rescue after becoming stranded, and at least 2,700 residents were forced to evacuate their homes. The Turkish state meteorological service issued further alerts for heavy rain and thunderstorms over the weekend, forecasting an additional 40 to 60 millimeters of precipitation in parts of the Marmara and western Black Sea regions.