KEELUNG, Taiwan — Super Typhoon Kong-rey made landfall in Taiwan on Thursday as one of the biggest storms to hit the island in decades, whipping up 10-metre waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life.
Packing maximum wind speeds of 184 kilometers per hour (114 miles per hour), Kong-rey slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday afternoon, the Central Weather Administration said.
It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most powerful storm to hit Taiwan in eight years when it made landfall in July, but Kong-rey's radius of 320 kilometers made it the biggest in nearly three decades.
Scientists have warned climate change is increasing the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains and flash floods and stronger gusts.
"Its impact on all of Taiwan will be quite severe," Chu Mei-lin from the Central Weather Administration warned.
Work and schools across Taiwan were suspended on Thursday as people hunkered down ahead of the storm.
One person was killed when a falling tree crushed her vehicle on Thursday in the central county of Nantou, the National Fire Agency said. Another 73 have been injured in the wild weather.
"This typhoon feels very strong," 52-year-old office worker Kevin Lin told AFP.
"I'm used to the many typhoons in Taiwan and I don't feel scared."
Wind and rain intensified after the eye of the typhoon passed, an official at the fire department told AFP, with reports of toppled power poles and trees in the coastal town.
There was "very serious" flooding in Hualien County, Hualian fire department chief Wang Ming-chung said, with rescues and evacuations still under way.
"We are also handling incidents of falling signboards hitting people and fallen trees on the roads," Wang told AFP.
Kong-rey was expected to weaken after hitting land and then move across the mountains that run down the center of the island before exiting over the Taiwan Strait in the evening, Chu said.
But she warned that the storm would "severely" affect the island all day and into the early hours of Friday.
Troops on standby
The streets of Taipei were largely deserted as heavy rain and fierce wind lashed the capital.
Island-wide, nearly 35,000 troops were on standby to help with relief efforts.
At least four mudslides have been recorded, the National Fire Agency said.
Authorities managed to contact two Czech tourists who were hiking in Taroko Gorge in Hualien and could not be reached by satellite or mobile phone on Wednesday. They were sheltering in the mountains, the local fire department said.
More than 400 domestic and international flights were cancelled while all ferry services were suspended. Nearly 100,000 homes have lost power, disaster officials said.
Taiwanese tech giant TSMC said it had "activated routine typhoon alert preparation procedures" at its chip-making facilities and did not expect a "significant impact" on operations.
More than a meter of rain could fall in the hardest-hit areas along the east coast by Friday as the seasonal monsoon also drenched the island of 23 million people earlier in the week, prompting warnings of landslides.
Authorities have evacuated 8,600 people from their homes in vulnerable counties and cities, including Yilan, Hualien and Taitung, according to the National Fire Agency.
President Lai Ching-te urged people to avoid "dangerous behavior" like going to the beach to watch the waves.
Kong-rey is the third typhoon to hit Taiwan since July.
Gaemi killed at least 10 people, injured hundreds and triggered widespread flooding in the southern seaport of Kaohsiung.
That was followed in early October by Krathon, which killed at least four people and injured hundreds, triggering mudslides, flooding and record-strong gusts.