Taiwan grounds flights and closes as Typhoon Champi nears
- Taiwan ground to a nearly complete halt as Typhoon Champi approached with 191 km/h wind gusts, shutting down schools, financial markets, and hundreds of flights across the East...
- The transport ministry grounded all 262 domestic flights and 717 international flights on Friday, while schools and offices across nearly all of Taiwan's 22 counties and cities suspended...
- Despite the widespread disruption, the world's largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, stated that its operations remained normal with no significant impact.
Taiwan ground to a nearly complete halt as Typhoon Champi approached with 191 km/h wind gusts, shutting down schools, financial markets, and hundreds of flights across the East Asia region. While initial forecasts anticipated a direct hit, weather agencies reported the storm’s track would pass just off the island’s northeastern coast. The government evacuated residents from mountainous regions as the massive storm brought torrential rain and destructive waves to coastal towns.
Typhoon Champi Grounds Flights and Closes Taiwan
The transport ministry grounded all 262 domestic flights and 717 international flights on Friday, while schools and offices across nearly all of Taiwan’s 22 counties and cities suspended work and classes for what is colloquially known as a “typhoon holiday.” The island’s $5 trillion stock exchange also closed its doors for the day. Convenience stores and businesses rushed to install sandbags and metal barriers at their entrances to protect against expected flooding.
Despite the widespread disruption, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, stated that its operations remained normal with no significant impact. Power outages affected more than 77,000 homes initially, though Taipower restored electricity to most of them quickly. In the southern Okinawa prefecture of Japan, power cuts hit nearly 8,400 households, and four Japanese airlines cancelled more than 160 flights.
Casualties and Evacuations Across the Island
One man died after being swept away by waves at a beach below the Beauty Cave in Pingtung County’s Liouciou Township, with emergency responders recovering his body. The Central Emergency Operations Center recorded 94 storm-related injuries by Friday morning, driven largely by scooter accidents, traffic collisions, falls, and people struck by falling objects.
Yellow alerts for potential debris-flow streams were issued for 44 waterways in Yilan County alone. In the port town of Suao, local officials placed the military on standby to deploy amphibious vehicles for disaster relief if flooding overwhelmed coastal defenses.
Pacific Storm Season Fuelled by Super El Niño
Typhoon Champi reached peak intensity earlier in the week as the planet’s strongest storm of the year, packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 298 km/h over the Philippine Sea, equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane. The storm subsequently weakened while crossing the ocean, maintaining maximum sustained wind speeds of 176 km/h by Friday. The storm activity is linked to an unusually strong El Niño heating up the equatorial Pacific Ocean and generating one of the most active typhoon seasons the region has experienced in years.
Weather agencies in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan expected the eye of the storm to miss direct landfall, but forecasters at Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration warned that landfall remained a possibility if Champi stalled or wobbled on approach. A slower movement would prolong the duration of destructive winds and heavy rains across the island.
Path Toward China and Japan
Forecasters tracked Champi to pass by Taiwan’s northeastern tip before curving north toward the eastern coast of China. The storm was then projected to move toward the Okinawa islands and Japan’s main island. Up to 90 centimeters of rain was expected to fall across Taiwan from Thursday through Saturday, with the heaviest downpours concentrated in the northeastern counties.
Precipitation was forecast to peak on Saturday morning, with squally showers and dangerous coastal waves continuing to batter Taiwan throughout Saturday evening. Emergency management teams urged residents to stay away from beaches and mountain paths while monitoring water levels at vulnerable regional barriers such as the Wanli River lake in Hualien County.