Deadly Typhoon Koinu after hitting Taiwan and the Philippines is expected to be heading towards China’s southeast coast and later Hong Kong.
The category four typhoon left one dead, over three hundred injured in Taiwan and the landscape drenched leaving behind localised damage.
Effect in Taiwan:
On October 4th, 2023, Typhoon Koinu bypassed the north of the Philippines to then approach Taiwan’s south-eastern coast.
Sally Cusicahua, climate and ecology reporter, states she has “never seen anything like it” as over 170,000 Taiwanese households were affected by power outages, authorities say.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, agricultural losses in Taiwan caused by Typhoon Koinu have totalled to approximately nt$344.56 million (around GBP£872.43 million) in total. With nearly 10,000 hectares of crops damaged, the typhoon has hurt the region due to Taiwan having limited arable land prior to the disruption.
One member of the public affirmed that “Taiwan is in a state of evacuation”, as more than two hundred people were evacuated from areas prone to landslides.
Governmental Response:
Taiwanese governmental bodies issued weather alerts warning citizens of the imminent storm that would bring “strong gales and downpours to southern and eastern parts of Taiwan” with the added potential of “landfall in the southeast part of the island”.
Various forms of transportation were restricted due to the Typhoon in Taiwan with operators initially cancelling six domestic flights and thirty-three ferry services as a response following this announcement.
Tourists and locals are now trapped in affected regions of Taiwan, with one tourist sharing his personal experience on Twitter stating the “serious issues in the hotel” as they approach the eye of the storm. He shows himself and others holding a door shut, fighting against the force of the wind capturing the “destruction that is happening”.
The typhoon has now caused the cancellation of more than one hundred flights in addition to the suspension of work and schools.
Direct from Taitung County government and Kenting National Park authorities, those who chose to violate the set restrictions will be issued a fine between NT$50,000 and NT$250,000 (GBP£1272.54 and GBP£6362.73).
The record-breaking winds in Taiwan have causes scenes of disruption throughout the region affecting all locals and tourists.
Though the havoc in Taiwan is slowly returning back to normality, as power is starting to be restored to affected households the evident signs of terror are still dominating east Asia territories.