Typhoon Champi Disrupts Taiwan, Cancels Hundreds of Flights
The powerful storm, the strongest of the year, prompted school and office closures, and caused one death as it neared Taiwan's coast.
Hundreds of flights across the East Asia region were canceled Friday as Typhoon Champi approached Taiwan's northeastern coast, leading to the closure of schools and offices on the island. Authorities reported one death after a person was swept away by waves, and 171 others were injured.
While landfall in Taiwan remains uncertain, the storm was forecast to bring significant rainfall and strong winds to the island's northeast through Saturday. Taiwan's Central Weather Administration indicated that the eye of the storm was expected to pass without making landfall, but did not completely rule out the possibility if the storm's path shifted.
Typhoon Champi has been the planet's strongest storm of the year, reaching peak wind gusts of 191 km/h (119 mph) as it moved across the region. After passing Taiwan and Japan's southern Okinawa islands, the typhoon is projected to move over waters off China's eastern coast before potentially curving northeast toward Japan's main island.
In Taiwan, work and classes were suspended in nearly all of its 22 counties and cities, a measure colloquially known as a "typhoon holiday." The Taiwan Stock Exchange also closed for the day due to the severe weather. Kinmen county, located west of Taiwan's main island, was the only exception.
In Japan, the Okinawa prefecture reported power outages affecting approximately 8,400 households, and more than 160 flights were canceled by four Japanese airlines. Heavy rains and winds also affected the Philippine island chain of Batanes, situated south of Taiwan, with reports of waves crashing into coastal villages and road closures.
Typhoon Champi attained its peak strength earlier in the week, reaching wind speeds equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane over the Philippine Sea. Although it weakened slightly, it remains a powerful storm. This year marks the 30th typhoon to affect Japan, the highest number since 2013, a trend attributed to an unusually strong El Niño phenomenon heating the Pacific Ocean and fueling extreme weather events.