Early on Thursday, typhoon Koinu—which in Japanese means “puppy”—was made ashore.
Typhoon Koinu hit southern Taiwan on Thursday, bringing with it record-breaking winds and rain that forced the closure of businesses like schools. 190 people were injured, but there were no fatalities.
Koinu, which means “puppy” in Japanese, landed early on Thursday near Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan’s southernmost point. It is projected that it will weaken as it moves westward near the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Fujian.
As the typhoon approached on Wednesday night, it brought with it the fastest wind ever seen in Taiwan. At 9:53 p.m., a weather station on the nearby Orchid Island, which lies southeast of the main island, recorded a gust of 342.7 kph (212.9 mph), and at 9:40 p.m., sustained winds reached 198.7 kph (123.5 kph).
According to the official Central News Agency, Huang Chia-mei, head of the Central Weather Administration’s Taitung Weather Station, both numbers represented all-time highs since Taiwan started keeping track of wind speeds in 1897.
Soon later, according to Huang, the instrument used to measure wind speed broke.
Koinu experienced maximum sustained winds of 155 kph (96 mph) with gusts of 191 kph (119 mph) on Thursday afternoon.
The counties of Taitung and Hualien on the east coast as well as the southern, hilly Pingtung county experienced the highest rainfall.
Cities all throughout the island, including Kaohsiung, a significant southern port city, canceled work and classes. As of Thursday morning, Taipei’s capital was open for business as usual, and the rain had stopped.
The majority of the 190 injuries in Taiwan, according to the fire department, were in West Coast cities including Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung.
According to the transportation ministry, numerous international flights as well as the majority of domestic flights were canceled. Ferries to nearby islands were also halted.
Typhoon Koinu, despite weakening, is predicted to inundate southern China’s coastal regions during the weekend. Beginning on Friday, the city of Guangzhou canceled several flights and trains, and its marine authorities issued a Level 4 alert, the least serious of a four-tier system, urging caution.
Also, Read What Are Quantum Dots? Crystals Behind Chemistry Nobel Prize
Authorities in the Taiwan Strait bordering province of Fujian canceled 137 passenger ferry services.
Although Taiwan is located in a tropical cyclone-prone area, Koinu is only the second typhoon to make landfall there in the previous four years. Numerous people were hurt when Typhoon Haikui slammed the island in early September.
