Typhoon Champi Leaves 1 Dead, 527 Injured in Taiwan After Looping Off Yilan Coast

Since Champi peaked as one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year earlier this week, the typhoon has made its closest pass at Taiwan. It glanced off the island's northeast coast in Yilan County in the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 24, and has been moving away since.

Taiwan's fire department puts the toll at one dead and 527 injured. The dead man was swept off the small island of Liuqiu by waves on Thursday. The Central Emergency Operation Center reported no one missing as of Friday evening.

The injury count climbed fast

The injured total rose sharply over about a day. The emergency center counted 163 injured on Friday afternoon and 350 by 7:30 p.m. Friday. The fire department's figure is now 527. Most of that came during the heavy wind and torrential rain of Friday night.

The storm did something unusual near midnight. Its center turned south, hugged the Yilan coastline, then made what Reuters described as a rare loop offshore before heading north. Coastal areas saw gusts of about 227 kph (141 mph). Power lines came down and roof tiles went flying.

"It was most terrifying around midnight," a retired teacher surnamed Lin told Reuters in Yilan, as he looked over downed banana trees in his garden. "I haven't seen anything like this in many years."

The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Champi was about 150 km (93 miles) east of Taiwan on Saturday. Gusts near its center had dropped to roughly 126 kph (78 mph), down from the 298 kph sustained winds it carried at its peak.

Power, flights and closures

Taipower said more than 288,000 homes lost electricity at one point. Most have since been reconnected.

The transport ministry said 242 flights were cancelled Saturday. On Friday the number was nearly 1,000, including all 262 domestic flights and 669 international ones.

Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Taichung and other northern and central jurisdictions declared a second day of office and school closures. The rest of the island returned to a normal working day.

The storm hit a holiday weekend. President Lai Ching-te told residents on Friday to stay off beaches, mountains and streams and to follow evacuation orders. He told agencies to prioritize elderly residents, people with mobility problems and those needing medical care. The government said more than 2,600 people had been evacuated from vulnerable mountain areas as of Friday.

Rain was the other threat

The CWA forecast cumulative rainfall of 600 to 900 mm in mountainous parts of New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Yilan through midnight Saturday. The Taipingshan station in Yilan had passed 500 mm by 7 p.m. Friday, which the CWA classes as extremely torrential. The agency warned of landslides, falling rocks and flooding in low-lying areas.

CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng had cautioned before the closest approach that a direct landfall could not be ruled out if the storm "stalls, loops or wobbles from side to side." The storm did loop, but the center stayed offshore. Taiwan is generally well prepared for typhoons, which keeps casualties low, though the 527 injuries show how much a storm this size can still do from just off the coast.

China and Japan are next

The forecast track turns Champi north along the Chinese coast, and Reuters reported it was not expected to make landfall there. China's emergency management ministry sent a team to Zhejiang province and warned of strong winds and heavy rain through Sunday. The ministry said 400 rescue workers and 600 pieces of equipment were readied, with more than 41,000 firefighters on emergency duty.

State media reported that in the coastal city of Taizhou more than 3,800 fishing boats returned to harbor and 2,084 island visitors were evacuated. Authorities halted 25 offshore construction projects and suspended 18 passenger ferry routes.

Champi has already hit southwestern Japan. One person was injured, flights were grounded and power was knocked out. On Miyako island, a woman in her 70s broke her leg in the wind, according to the Associated Press. Forecasters expect the storm to reach Japan's southern mainland on Monday, Oct. 26.

The storm also forced a change to a military vessel's port schedule during a major U.S.-Japan exercise near Taiwan, according to the Epoch Times. The American Institute in Taiwan closed its Taipei office on Oct. 23 and urged Americans on the island to monitor local weather and safety information.

The final tally is still open. Injury numbers rose by hundreds in a single day, and rain-triggered landslide and flood damage in Yilan's mountains had not been fully assessed as of Saturday morning. The CWA's rainfall warnings for those areas run through midnight tonight, Oct. 24.