China prepares for downgraded storm Champi following fatal damage in Taiwan
A powerful storm swept towards China on Saturday after battering Taiwan and Japan’s southernmost islands, knocking out power to thousands of households and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights. Typhoon Champi was downgraded to a tropical storm as its wind speed dropped to 102 kilometres (63 miles) per hour, according to the latest update from the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre. Taiwanese authorities evacuated more than 5,000 people from their homes ahead of the storm, which toppled trees, brought down power lines and triggered brief flooding. One person was killed and more than 600 injured since Thursday, when the government began issuing warnings about the typhoon. Power has been restored to more than 90 per cent of over 340,000 affected households, after the storm unleashed fierce winds and heavy rain over swathes of Taiwan. Most shops across northern and central Taiwan were closed for a second day, as the typhoon moved away from the island’s northeast and headed north towards China. “Although the typhoon is gradually departing, we would like to remind the public that coastal areas will still experience swells and strong wind gusts,” the Central Weather Administration’s Wuu Woan-hwa said at a briefing. Champi is the latest in a busy Pacific storm season turbocharged by the El Nino weather phenomenon that has caused unprecedented warming in the equatorial Pacific. The storm was briefly a super typhoon as it crossed the ocean in recent days, with reported maximum sustained wind speeds of nearly 300kph. Its intensity weakened overnight as it made a loop off Taiwan’s northeastern county of Yilan, where it has dumped at least 65 cm (26 inches) of rain since Thursday, the forecaster said. Martha Wang said she was afraid of being “blown away” by the wind as she rode her scooter across a bridge in New Taipei City on Saturday morning. “I was really scared because I was on the bridge. My scooter was shaking,” the 55-year-old secretary told AFP. William Yu, however, was unfazed by the storm, saying it “wasn’t any stronger than other typhoons.” “I went to the convenience store to eat yesterday (evening), and everything was fine,” the 55-year-old librarian said. Heading for China Authorities in China warned of “strong winds and heavy rain” as Champi approaches the country’s east coast, state broadcaster CCTV said. Some train services have been suspended and tens of thousands evacuated from their homes in Shanghai. “Some areas of Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and other regions are expected to experience heavy to torrential rainfall,” it said. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled in the region, including in Japan’s southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, where the government said two people were injured in the typhoon. Tourists on Ishigaki island waited for flights to resume so they could return home. “We hope it’s our last day,” Eva Malek, 49, from Poland told AFP. “It’s not easy to have information. We were not aware of the situation and didn’t expect something like this to happen. When the typhoon arrived, we didn’t think it would be that strong.” The United Nations said Wednesday that the El Nino system gripping the planet is heading off the charts and that countries should take urgent action to prepare for the worst. El Nino is expected to peak in December, but the human impact is set to last into 2027 and beyond. The warming phase of a natural climate cycle, El Nino temporarily raises sea temperatures in the tropical Pacific, triggering changes in weather that can increase the risk of drought and flooding and exacerbate human-caused global warming.
A weakening tropical system tracked toward the eastern coastline of China on Saturday following a destructive passage over Taiwan and southern Japanese islands that disrupted travel, cut electricity to hundreds of thousands, and resulted in at least one death.
Champi, which had earlier attained super typhoon strength over open water with maximum sustained winds approaching 300 kilometres per hour, has weakened into a tropical storm. Data from the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre showed its wind speeds had slowed to 102 km/h (63 mph) as it moved away from Taiwan and turned northward.
In Taiwan, the severe weather left one person dead and injured more than 600 people since storm alerts were first activated on Thursday, according to emergency officials. Heavy rain and gales brought down electrical lines, uprooted trees, and caused temporary flooding. More than 5,000 residents were moved to safety prior to the storm's arrival.
The island's power grid suffered extensive damage, with more than 340,000 households losing electricity during the height of the storm, though utility crews had managed to reconnect more than 90 percent of those properties by Saturday. Businesses throughout northern and central areas stayed shut for a second consecutive day.
The storm dropped more than 65 centimetres of precipitation on the northeastern county of Yilan as it looped offshore overnight. Central Weather Administration forecaster Wuu Woan-hwa cautioned that while the center was pulling away, coastal zones would continue to face powerful wind gusts and dangerous ocean swells.
Transport across the region experienced severe interruptions, with hundreds of airline flights grounded. In Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa, officials reported two injuries related to the storm. Travelers stranded on Ishigaki island were among those waiting for airports to restart operations so they could depart.
Chinese authorities issued warnings for intense downpours and high winds along the nation's eastern seaboard. State broadcaster CCTV reported that tens of thousands of residents in Shanghai were being relocated as a precaution, while railway operators paused select train routes. Portions of Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu provinces were forecast to receive heavy to torrential precipitation.
The system forms part of an active Pacific season influenced by the El Nino climate pattern, which heats ocean waters across the equatorial Pacific and elevates the risks of extreme weather events worldwide. The United Nations recently warned that the current phenomenon is exceptionally strong, urging governments to brace for severe impacts expected to persist well past its projected peak later this year.
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