Taiwan: Typhoon Gaemi Intensifies into Super-Typhoon
As Typhoon Gaemi approached Taiwan, it escalated into a super-typhoon before making landfall near the city of Hualien and officials say it could be the most powerful storm to hit the island in eight years.
Published 4 months ago
Extremely Powerful Tropical Cyclone
A super-typhoon is an extremely powerful tropical cyclone in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, distinguished by sustained wind speeds of at least 150 miles per hour (241 kilometres per hour), , the equivalent of a category four hurricane in terms of wind strength and destructive potential.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) uses this classification, placing super-typhoons on par with the most intense hurricanes in the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific, specifically Category 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Severe Wind, Rain and Flooding
Typhoon Gaemi made landfall on Taiwan’s east coast with wind gusts of around 240km /(150mph. Authorities are warning one of biggest risks comes from the typhoon’s potential to cause landslides and flash flooding, especially on mountainsides already destabilised by a large earthquake that hit the country in April 2024.
Flights were cancelled and schools and offices closed ahead of the storm’s expected landfall and already, a number of fatalities and injuries have been attributed to the advancing storm.
Flooding and Fatalities in the Philippines
Typhoon Gaemi had already caused a number of fatalities in the Philippines on its way past the country, adding to flooding and landslides from already high monsoon rainfall. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in the worst affected areas.
Intense rains for China
Typhoon Gaemi is also expected to bring heavy to very intense rains over vast swathes of China which are expected to last for a week, fuelled by the typhoon’s abundant moisture. China’s National Meteorological Centre has issued a red alert, the highest level, according to Xinhua.
Loop-de-Loop
Metereologists have also expressed amazement after Typhoon Gaemi did a bizarre loop-de-loop that meant Taiwan’s east coast was hammered by the storm’s intense inner core twice.
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Related News:
- Typhoon Gaemi makes Landfall on Taiwan (BBC)
- Typhoon Gaemi Intensifies into Super-Typhoon (Independent.co.uk)
- Typhoon Gaemi barrels through Taiwan (Reuters)
- Looping Typhoon is Stunning Metereologists (Washington Post)
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Related to following destinations: Batangas, Hualien, Kaohsiung, Keelung, Ken-ting, Legaspi, Luzon (Northern Region), Manila, Maya Maya, Mindanao (Southern Region), Palawan, Penghu Archipelago, Philippines, Puerto Galera (Mindoro), San Fernando - La Union, Suao, Subic Bay, Tabaco, Taichung, Tainan City (Anping), Taiwan
Related to the following Cruising Resources: Hurricanes and Tropical Cyclones, Weather
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