Over 8,300 people were evacuated from Taiwan in anticipation of Typhoon Fung-wong’s arrival on Wednesday. Although weakened, the typhoon brought unprecedented rainfall to the mountainous eastern coast, causing floods that reached neck-high levels in some areas.
Most businesses and schools in southern Taiwan were closed, with 51 reported injuries.
TV footage depicted severe flooding in Yilan, a largely rural eastern county, where soldiers conducted rescue operations for stranded residents amidst neck-deep waters.
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In the harbor town of Suao, over 1,000 homes were inundated, as the area received 648 mm (25 inches) of rain on Tuesday, marking a new monthly record, according to weather authorities.
“The water surged unexpectedly,” said fisherman Hung Chun-yi, who spent the night clearing mud after his home in Suao was flooded up to 60 cm (2 ft) deep on the first floor.
“The rain was so intense and rapid that the drainage system couldn’t cope,” he added.
The fire department relocated about 8,300 residents to safer areas, primarily in Yilan and nearby Hualien, as a northern monsoon intensified the late-season typhoon’s rainfall.
“Summers are extending, and typhoons are arriving increasingly later,” noted Huang En-hong, a forecaster at Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration.
He mentioned that climate change might lead to more extreme weather events, though further research is necessary to confirm this trend.
Fung-wong is predicted to skim Taiwan’s southern tip on Wednesday before moving into the Pacific Ocean. The typhoon significantly weakened after passing through the Philippines, where it claimed 27 lives.
A previous typhoon in September resulted in floods in Hualien that killed 18 people.
This week’s typhoon is not expected to impact Hsinchu, a northern city that houses TSMC, the world’s leading contract chipmaker.
