Typhoon Champi hits Taiwan, killing one and injuring 350

Authorities warn of ‘destructive winds’ and urge residents to shelter as the storm passes the island’s northeast.

Waves crash against concrete wave breakers along the coast as Typhoon Champi approaches Taiwan [I-Hwa Cheng/AFP]

Typhoon Champi has struck Taiwan, killing one person and injuring at least 350 others, as authorities warned of “destructive winds” and instructed people to stay indoors.

The storm swept past the island’s northeast on Friday, toppling trees, shutting shops and schools, cutting power to thousands of households, and forcing more than 4,300 people to evacuate from their homes.

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Champi is heading towards China and Japan, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights in the region.

“From tonight through tomorrow morning conditions will be very windy and stormy everywhere,” Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lin Ping-yu said in a briefing. “Please try to stay indoors.”

Champi was briefly a super typhoon with winds of nearly 300 kilometres per hour (186 miles per hour) but has since weakened. The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported maximum winds of 185km/h (115mph).

Worse is still expected to come on Saturday. Champi could drop up to 900mm (35 inches) of rain between Thursday and Saturday, with the northeast hit hardest, the CWA said. More than 400mm fell in Yilan County on Friday.

CWA forecaster Lu Kuo-chen said the typhoon could slow near the island’s northeastern tip, prolonging its impact.

About 8,400 households in Japan’s Okinawa islands were without power on Friday afternoon, according to the Okinawa Electric Power Company. Champi is forecast to hover near Okinawa and then China’s eastern coast before turning northeast towards mainland Japan.

Champi is the latest storm in a Pacific season supercharged by El Nino.

The United Nations said on Wednesday that El Nino, a natural cycle that warms the tropical Pacific, is heading off the charts.

“The current El Nino event could be unprecedented in strength. Literally off the monitoring charts that we have used for the past four decades,” said Celeste Saulo, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization.

It is expected to peak in December, with its impact lasting into 2027 and beyond.

当局警告称，风暴将席卷该岛东北部，并敦促居民寻找避难所，以防“破坏性大风”来袭。

台风“占比”逼近台湾，海浪拍打着沿海的混凝土防波堤。[郑宜华/法新社]

台风“占比”袭击台湾，造成一人死亡，至少350人受伤。当局警告称，台风将带来“破坏性大风”，并指示民众待在室内。

周五，风暴席卷了该岛东北部，吹倒了树木，关闭了商店和学校，导致数千户家庭断电，并迫使 4300 多人撤离家园。

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昌皮正朝着中国和日本方向移动，迫使该地区数百个航班取消。

中央气象局预报员林平宇在新闻发布会上说：“今晚到明天早上，各地将出现大风和暴雨天气，请尽量待在室内。”

强台风“占比”一度达到超强台风级别，风速接近每小时300公里（每小时186英里），但之后强度有所减弱。美国联合台风警报中心报告的最大风速为每小时185公里（每小时115英里）。

预计周六情况会更加糟糕。中央水务局表示，占比地区周四至周六的降雨量可能高达900毫米（35英寸），东北地区受灾最为严重。周五宜兰县的降雨量超过400毫米。

中国气象局预报员卢国臣表示，台风可能会在岛屿东北角附近减速，从而延长其影响。

据冲绳电力公司消息，周五下午，日本冲绳群岛约有8400户家庭断电。预计台风“占比”将先在冲绳附近徘徊，然后接近中国东部沿海地区，之后转向东北方向，朝日本本土移动。

昌比是受厄尔尼诺现象影响而加剧的太平洋风暴季中的最新风暴。

联合国周三表示，厄尔尼诺现象（一种导致热带太平洋变暖的自然周期）正超出正常范围。

世界气象组织秘书长塞莱斯特·萨乌洛表示：“目前的厄尔尼诺现象强度可能是前所未有的，完全超出了我们过去四十年来使用的监测图表范围。”

预计将在 12 月达到高峰，其影响将持续到 2027 年及以后。