Typhoon Koinu: One dead and 304 injured as Taiwan hit by heavy rain

Typhoon Koinu has wreaked havoc in Taiwan, killing one person and injuring 304 people. The typhoon is named after Koinu, which means “puppy” in Japanese. Cape Eluanbi, the southernmost tip of Taiwan, has been affected the most by typhoon Koinu.

On Thursday morning, Typhoon Koinu swept southern Taiwan, bringing pounding rain and record-breaking winds to the country. Typhoon Koinu also led to school and office closures.

The typhoon also made landfall in Cape Eluanbi. It brought the fastest wind ever recorded in Taiwan. People had to stay at home because of the strong winds and heavy rain.

Typhoon Koinu

Taiwan’s Hengchun peninsula described Typhoon Koinu as a category four typhoon. The typhoon approached on Wednesday night. The head of the Central Weather Administration’s Taitung Weather Station, Huang Chia-mei, said that the typhoon reached 198.7 kph (123.5 kph) at 9:40 p.m on Wednesday night. The device measuring the wind speeds also broke because of the heavy rainfall and record-breaking winds.

Today, the typhoon’s maximum sustained winds measured 155 kph (96 mph). The heaviest rain fell in Taitung, Hualien, and Pingtung county, a county located in southern Taiwan.

The heavy rainfall will last till Friday, mostly affecting the island’s south and east. People are advised to stay at home during heavy rainfall.

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What did Taiwan’s fire department say?

Taiwan’s fire department reported the death of one person due to typhoon Koinu. The person was hit by flying glass in Taichung, an industrial city on the western side of central Taiwan. Around 304 people were injured across the island. The typhoon also caused damage to buildings and downed trees. The damage was also recorded on Orchid Island off Taitung’s coast in the Pacific Ocean. 

Videos went viral on social media. The videos showed cars blown off roads, fishing boats sunk in a harbor and smashed windows of different buildings.

Taiwan’s official Central News Agency said that the country recorded the strongest wind in 126 years. UNI Air and Mandarin Airlines also canceled their flights because of the typhoon. Most people were injured in Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The authorities also suspended 137 passenger ferry trips in Fujian province Taiwan.