Typhoon Gaemi made landfall as a severe typhoon in Yilan at midnight on Thursday. After moving past Taoyuan in the early morning hours, it weakened to moderate intensity. As the center of the storm moved toward Kinmen and Matsu Islands, reaching the sea 80 kilometers northwest of Hsinchu, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) lifted the land warning for Pingtung County.
The maximum wind speed near the center of Gaemi dropped to 155 meters per hour by 8 a.m. on Thursday morning. Due to its interaction with Taiwan’s mountainous terrain, it hovered near the coast of Hualien for nearly 10 hours before finally making landfall at Nan’ao Township at midnight. It was downgraded to a moderate typhoon after crossing the Central Mountain Range.
Despite the downgrade, Gaemi has brought considerable rainfall to the western parts of Taiwan, especially in the central and southern regions. In just a few hours, more than 10 centimeters of rain accumulated in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County. Since Wednesday, the accumulated rainfall in the mountains near these areas has exceeded 1.2 meters.
Although the storm circle is gradually moving away from Taiwan, the CWA warns that the strong winds, heavy rain, and large waves produced by the storm likely will not ease up until Friday. They strongly advise the public to avoid visiting coastal areas.
