A drone view shows fishing boats being moored at a port as Typhoon Gaemi approaches, in Lianjiang county of Fuzhou, Fujian province, China July 23, 2024. Photo: China Daily via Reuters
TAIPEI/BEIJING: Typhoon Gaemi blew through northern Taiwan on Thursday (July 25), bringing floods and leading to traffic snarls, before heading across the sea and into China where it is expected to bring further torrential rain.
Gaemi made landfall on the northeastern coast of Taiwan on the borders of Yilan and Hualien counties, and as of 7am (2300 GMT Wednesday) it was in the Taiwan Strait and taking aim at Fuzhou in China's Fujian province.
It is expected to bring further rain across Taiwan, with offices and schools as well as the financial markets closed for a second day on Thursday.
Trains, including the high speed line linking northern and southern Taiwan, will be closed until 3pm (0700 GMT), with all domestic flights and 185 international flights cancelled for the day.
The government said only two people had died, with 266 injuries.
Taiwanese television stations showed pictures of flooded streets in cities and counties across the island.
Chinese weather forecasters said Gaemi will pass through Fujian and head inland, gradually moving northward with less intensity. But weather forecasters are expecting heavy rain in many areas as it tracks north.
Government officials have already prepared for a stretch of heavy rain and flooding - raising advisories and warnings in the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang.
Meanwhile, north China is experiencing heavy rain from summer storms around a separate weather system. Officials in capital Beijing upgraded and issued a red warning late Wednesday night for torrential rain expected through most of Thursday, according to Chinese state media.
The Beijing Fangshan District Meteorological Observatory expects that by 10 am (0200 GMT) many parts of the city will have more than 150 mm (6 inches) of rainfall in six hours, and in some other areas more than 200 mm (7.9 inches) in 24 hours, state television reported. - Reuters
