Deadly Typhoon Gaemi hits China after flooding Philippines, Taiwan
The storm dropped more than 66 inches of rain in Taiwan while also causing extreme flooding in the Philippines.
A typhoon moving into China on Thursday unleashed severe flooding this week, killing more than a 20 people in the Philippines and Taiwan. According to Reuters, the typhoon, named Gaemi by Japan's Meteorological Agency and Carina by the Philippines weather service, was the strongest to hit Taiwan in eight years.
Typhoon Gaemi dumped around 5 feet of rain on parts of Taiwan, leading to an extraordinarily dangerous situation.
Severe flooding strikes Philippines, Taiwan, where 66 inches of rain fell
Rain from the typhoon in Taiwan was extreme, with feet of rain falling in the mountains. As of Thursday evening, 66.16 inches of rain (5.51 feet) had fallen in the last three days at Duonalindao, with 58.05 inches at Weiliaoshan.
Taiwan's financial markets, government offices and schools remained closed on Thursday. A cargo ship carrying nine people sank 20 miles off the coast of Taiwan on Thursday in rough seas, the fire agency reported.
Although it did not directly impact the Philippines, moisture from the Typhoon caused extreme flooding in the archipelago. The Philippine Coast Guard reported being overwhelmed with flood rescue requests for residents in the capital city of Manila. Footage from Quezon City, Philippines, Wednesday showed barges hitting a bridge on a flooded river.
The Philippine Coast Guard said an oil tanker carrying over 1,000,000 liters of oil capsized off the coast of Bataan earlier in the day. The Coast Guard was monitoring a 2.3-mile-long oil spill associated with the accident.
Typhoon moving over China today
Severe Tropical Storm Gaemi was the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale when it pushed into the Fujian province of China Thursday evening, then moved inland, continuing to spread flooding rain.
Typhoon does a loop-de-loop
Earlier this week, Typhoon Gaemi was a Category 4 equivalent on the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Scale. On Wednesday, the typhoon performed a loop in its track, approaching the coast of Taiwan before grazing the coast and moving east, then turning around and making landfall just before midnight as a Category 3. The looping phenomenon is caused by interaction with the mountains in Taiwan and is not unusual for storms in the area, AccuWeather Lead International Expert Jason Nichols says.
"The loop in Gaemi's track is due to being deflected off the mountainous coast of Taiwan due to orographic blocking, causing an asymmetric flow over the center of the typhoon," Nichols explained. Eventually, the storm resumes something similar to its previous trajectory.
Taiwan weather radar loop showing Typhoon Gaemi 7 a.m. Wednesday to 2 a.m. Thursday local time. (Central Weather Administration)
