Typhoon Gami, the third typhoon of the season, has struck Taiwan, causing numerous casualties and property damage. This typhoon is the strongest to make landfall in Taiwan in about eight years, since Typhoon Nepartak in July 2016.
According to major Taiwanese media on the 25th, the Central Disaster Response Headquarters reported that as of 8 a.m. that day, Typhoon Gami had caused 2 deaths, 279 injuries, and power outages affecting approximately 320,000 households.
As of 9 p.m. the previous day, 1,789 street trees had fallen, and many cars and motorcycles were damaged.
In southern Kaohsiung, a 64-year-old caregiver commuting by motorcycle was killed after being struck by a broken tree branch blown down by strong winds. In Hualien City, a steel structure installed on the rooftop of a five-story building hit a passing vehicle, resulting in the death of a woman in her 40s who was in the back seat, while her 7-year-old son was transferred to the intensive care unit for treatment, according to Taiwanese media.
Major foreign news outlets, citing Taiwanese fire authorities, reported that a Tanzania-registered cargo ship capsized off the coast of Kaohsiung, with nine Myanmar crew members missing.
The Central Weather Bureau of Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation stated that the typhoon brought about 1000 mm of rainfall to Taipingshan in eastern Yilan. The cumulative rainfall over four days is expected to reach 1800 mm in central Nantou, western Zai, and southern Kaohsiung and Pingtung regions.
Typhoon Gami is moving northward through Taiwan toward the southeastern coast of China. As it is expected to make landfall in Fujian Province in the afternoon, Chinese authorities have issued the highest-level typhoon red alert for the first time this year in the affected area.
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