Tropical Storm Champi Nears China After Taiwan Hit
Tropical Storm Champi is heading towards China’s east coast after battering Taiwan and Japan’s southernmost islands, knocking out power to thousands of homes and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights. The storm, downgraded from a typhoon, is now moving north after sweeping past Taiwan’s north-east coast.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre put Champi’s wind speed at 102 kilometres per hour in its latest update, down sharply from the near 300 kilometres per hour recorded when it briefly reached super typhoon strength over the ocean in recent days.
One person was killed and more than 600 injured in Taiwan since Thursday, when the government began issuing warnings about the storm. Taiwanese authorities evacuated more than 5,000 people from their homes ahead of its arrival.
Tropical Storm Champi: damage across Taiwan
The storm toppled trees, brought down power lines and triggered brief flooding across swathes of Taiwan. Power has now been restored to more than 90 per cent of the 340,000 households affected, officials said.
Central Weather Administration forecaster Wuu Woan-hwa warned that coastal areas still face danger even as the storm departs.
“Although the typhoon is gradually departing, we would like to remind the public that coastal areas will still experience swells and strong wind gusts,” Wuu said at a briefing.
Residents described a frightening night. Martha Wang, 55, said she feared being blown away as she rode her scooter across a bridge in New Taipei City on Saturday morning.
“I was really scared because I was on the bridge. My scooter was shaking,” the secretary told AFP.
Heading for China
Authorities in China have warned of strong winds and heavy rain as Champi approaches the east coast, state broadcaster CCTV said. Some train services have been suspended and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in Shanghai.
“Some areas of Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and other regions are expected to experience heavy to torrential rainfall,” CCTV said.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled in the region, including in Japan’s southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, where the government said two people were injured in the typhoon.
Tourists on Ishigaki island waited for flights to resume so they could return home. Eva Malek, 49, from Poland, said she had not expected the storm to be so strong.
“We hope it’s our last day,” she told AFP.
A storm shaped by El Nino
Champi is the latest in a busy Pacific storm season driven by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which has caused unprecedented warming in the equatorial Pacific.
The United Nations said on Wednesday that the El Nino system gripping the planet is heading off the charts and that countries should take urgent action to prepare. El Nino is expected to peak in December, but its human impact is set to last into 2027 and beyond.
El Nino is the warming phase of a natural climate cycle. It temporarily raises sea temperatures in the tropical Pacific, triggering changes in weather that can increase the risk of drought and flooding and worsen human-caused global warming.
This is a fresh chapter in a storm that Feature Pakistan has already tracked. Our earlier report covered the shutdown in Taiwan as Champi approached, with hundreds of flights cancelled. Saturday’s update moves the story on: the casualty count has risen past 600 injured, power is largely restored in Taiwan, and the threat has shifted to China’s east coast.
The storm is one of several world stories developing this weekend, alongside the UAE diplomat emerging as a frontrunner for the UN’s top job and Pakistan’s condemnation of the Jordan church attack.
What happens next
Forecasters will watch whether Champi holds together as a tropical storm or weakens further as it nears Jiangsu, Shanghai and Zhejiang.
In Taiwan, the clean-up continues, with coastal swells and gusts still a risk even after the storm’s centre has moved on.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Tropical Storm Champi now?
Champi has moved away from Taiwan’s north-east coast and is heading north towards China’s east coast, after being downgraded from a typhoon.
How strong is Champi now?
Its wind speed has dropped to 102 kilometres per hour, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, after briefly reaching nearly 300 kilometres per hour as a super typhoon.
How many people were killed or injured in Taiwan?
One person was killed and more than 600 injured in Taiwan since Thursday, when warnings began.
Which parts of China are at risk?
Jiangsu, Shanghai and Zhejiang are expected to see heavy to torrential rainfall, with train services suspended and tens of thousands evacuated in Shanghai.
