 |
A street in Taitung, Taiwan, on Friday after Typhoon
Nepartak tore through. Credit Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
|
A powerful typhoon killed at least two people and injured 72
others on Friday as it crossed Taiwan on its way toward the Chinese mainland,
the authorities said.
Typhoon Nepartak, the first typhoon to form in the
northwestern Pacific this year, pounded the island with heavy rain and powerful
winds, forcing the closure of schools and government offices. Video footage
showed scenes of destruction with roofs ripped off buildings, trees uprooted
and cars overturned.
Josh Morgerman, an American who pursues storms and documents
them online, wrote on Facebook that the typhoon was “one of the worst I’ve been
in.” He was in the southeastern county of Taitung when Nepartak struck, he
wrote, adding that “the howling was deafening as the air filled with lethal
swirling debris.”
“The driveway is filled with every kind of wreckage from God
knows where, including signs, branches, tin, a nice old chair, etc. The school
across the street has lost almost all of its roof,” he wrote.
At least two people were reported to have been killed, the
National Fire Agency, which is Taiwan’s general disaster response agency, said
on Friday. Many of those injured were hit by falling objects as wind gusts
reached 140 miles per hour, the agency said.
The storm hit Taiwan as a Category 4 typhoon, the
second-most powerful category, according to Tropical Storm Risk, a private
forecasting organization based in Britain. The eye of the storm came ashore at
5:50 a.m. in Taitung County, and the typhoon slowed as it moved west.
It caused power outages for about 360,000 households,
according to the Taiwan Power Company.
Trading on Taiwan’s financial markets was suspended Friday.
Train and bus operators suspended some services, and dozens of flights were
canceled.
By afternoon, Tropical Storm Risk had downgraded Nepartak to
a Category 2 storm as it headed toward the Chinese mainland. It was expected to
make landfall in Fujian Province on Saturday morning, according to the China
Meteorological Administration. The agency said it expected the storm to then
lose force as it moved north into Zhejiang Province.
The agency warned that Nepartak could bring heavy rainfall
to China’s eastern coast. This comes as much of eastern China has faced
torrential rains for days, with floods and hail claiming at least 164 lives and
leaving many others injured and at least 26 missing, according to figures
released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Friday.
The floods have displaced nearly two million people and
destroyed 73,000 buildings, the ministry estimated.
-New York Times
Post a Comment