Taiwan races to rescue sailors stranded by Typhoon Gaemi as China warns of wide impacts: Live updates
More than 290,000 people in China have been forced to flee their homes
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Taiwan’s coast guard is working to rescue dozens of sailors stranded off its southern coast after Typhoon Gaemi sank one freighter and left eight others stranded.
The typhoon flooded streets, knocked out power and killed at least five people in Taiwan before heading to China. It earlier killed 22 people in the Philippines.
Seventy-nine crew members are awaiting rescue on the eight freighters that were stranded, the coast guard said. Nine people were rescued earlier today from a Togo-flagged freighter stranded on a beach.
Typhoon Gaemi made landfall in China on Thursday evening, after officials issued widespread flood warnings and evacuations.
More than 290,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Fujian while emergency responses were put in place and flights and trains have been cancelled.
Gaemi is forecast to unleash intense rainfall in at least 10 Chinese provinces, including the capital Beijing, in the coming days, areas that have already been soaked by days of rainfall.
Gaemi has drawn comparisons with Typhoon Doksuri last year, which triggered historic flooding as far north as Beijing and caused nationwide losses of nearly $30bn.
Super-typhoons: The tropical cyclones that cause poverty
As Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan, it has escalated into a super-typhoon before making landfall.
A super-typhoon is an extremely powerful tropical cyclone in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, distinguished by sustained wind speeds of at least 150 miles per hour (241 kilometres per hour).
The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) uses this classification, placing super-typhoons on par with the most intense hurricanes in the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific, specifically Category 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Historically, super-storms like Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in 2013 and Typhoon Meranti in 2016 have caused widespread destruction. More than 14 million people were affected by Haiyan. It also pushed 2.3 million people into poverty.
Typhoon Meranti which struck the Philippines, Taiwan and mainland China, was one of the strongest tropical cyclones on record, causing more than $2.6 billion in damage and leading to more than 30 deaths.
Excess ocean heat from climate change intensifies typhoon, say experts
Excess ocean heat may be helping fuel the typhoon that’s nearing Taiwan.
Scientists say climate change is making typhoons – tropical cyclones that gain energy by feeding on ocean heat – more intense, capable of reaching greater wind speeds and dumping more rain.
Wind speeds at the typhoon’s centre were approaching their second-highest ever recorded for the Western Pacific Ocean on Wednesday afternoon.
Three dead and 266 injured after Typhoon Gaemi makes landfall
Three people have died and 266 were injured in Taiwan as Typhoon Gaemi barrelled through the island.
One scooter rider in southern Kaohsiung city was crushed by a falling tree before the arrival of storm, a woman in eastern Hualien died after a wall fell on the car she was in, and a neighbourhood leader in New Taipei was driving an excavator which overturned, authorities said.
The storm made landfall around midnight local time (5pm BST) on the northeastern coast of Taiwan in Yilan county.
It is the strongest typhoon to hit the island in eight years and was packing gusts of up to 227kph (141mph) before weakening, according to the Central Weather Administration.
The island was lashed by hours of heavy rain and powerful winds.
Nine missing as Typhoon Gaemi sinks freighter off Taiwan
A Tanzania-flagged freighter with nine Myanmar nationals on board has sunk off the coast of the southern port city of Kaohsiung amid extreme weather brought by Typhoon Gaemi, Taiwan's fire department said.
Officials say there has been no response from the crew.
Search efforts were ongoing, it added.
Typhoon Gaemi has brought heavy rainfall, gusty winds and a dangerous storm surge to Taiwan.
China activates emergency plans as Typhoon Gaemi moves closer
Chinese weather forecasters said Gaemi will pass through Fujian province later on Thursday and head inland, gradually moving northward with less intensity.
But weather forecasters are expecting heavy rain in many areas as it tracks north.
Government officials have already prepared for heavy rain and flooding, raising advisories and warnings in the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang.
In Fujian, government officials have relocated about 150,000 people, mainly from coastal fishing communities, state media reported.
As gale force winds picked up, officials in Zhoushan in Zhejiang province suspended passenger waterway routes for up to three days.
Most flights were cancelled at airports in Fuzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian, and Wenzhou in Zhejiang, according to the VariFlight app.
Guangzhou rail officials suspended some trains that pass through typhoon-affected areas, according to CCTV.
Meanwhile, north China is experiencing heavy rain from summer storms around a separate weather system.
Officials in capital Beijing upgraded and issued a red warning late on Wednesday night for torrential rain expected through most of Thursday, according to Chinese state media.
Some areas have already experienced heavy rain and emergency plans were activated, with more than 25,000 people evacuated, according to Beijing Daily.
Some train services were also suspended at the Beijing West Railway Station, state media said.
The Beijing Fangshan District Meteorological Observatory expects that by 10am (2am GMT) many parts of the city will have more than 150mm (6 inches) of rainfall in six hours, and in some other areas more than 200mm (8 inches) in 24 hours, state television reported.
Oil spill in Philippines as tanker carrying 1,500 tonnes of fuel capsizes
An oil tanker has capsized off the coast of Limay in the Philippines early this morning, causing a significant oil spill.The vessel, MT Terra Nova, was carrying 1,494 metric tonnes of industrial fuel.
The Philippine Coast Guard is investigating the incident to determine if it is linked to Typhoon Gaemi.
Transportation secretary Jaime Bautista confirmed the incident, noting that strong winds and high waves have hindered immediate response efforts.
Of the 17 crew members aboard, 16 have been rescued, while one remains missing. A search operation is underway.
“There was no weather disturbance in the vicinity waters when the maritime incident occurred,” Coast Guard spokesperson Armando Balilo, said.
The authorities are working to address the environmental impact of the spill as rescue and investigation efforts continue.
Chinese city suspends passenger ferries as Typhoon Gaemi approaches
China's Wenzhou city has suspended 49 scheduled passenger ferry journeys due to the imminent threat posed by Typhoon Gaemi, state media reported.
The decision comes as part of precautionary measures to ensure the safety of passengers and maritime operations, officials were quoted as saying.
Flights and trains have also been cancelled in Fujian as the typhoon brings heavy rainfall and gale force winds.
Most flights were cancelled at airports in Fuzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian, and Wenzhou in Zhejiang, according to the VariFlight app.
Guangzhou rail officials suspended some trains that pass through typhoon-affected areas, according to CCTV.
Typhoon Gaemi tracker: Where is the storm and when is it making landfall in China?
On Thursday morning, Typhoon Gaema was churning closer to China’s sotheastern coast, expected to make landfall by Thursday evening.
The storm has weakened after making landfall in Taiwan but it was still a typhoon, equivalent to a category 3 hurricane.
According to the latest update from the Philippines weather bureau, the storm has moved out of the Philippines’ area of responsibility, an area of the ocean monitored by the Philippines for storms and typhoons.
It was moving westward at 20kmh with maximum sustained winds of 140kmh near the centre and gustiness up to 215kmh.
The typhoon will be making landfall in Fuzhou in China’s Fujian province and then move inwards after weakening to a tropical depression.
In photos: Muddied homes and flooded streets in Philippines after relentless rainfall
Tanker carrying 1.5m litres of fuel capsizes
A major oil spill is underway off the coast of the Philippines after a tanker ship carrying 1.5m litres of industrial fuel capsized early on Thursday morning, officials said.
One crew member aboard the MT Terra Nova has been reported missing, the country’s transportation secretary Jaime Bautista said.
Arpan Rai has more:
Philippine oil tanker sinks in Manila Bay, raising concerns about a possible major spill
A Philippine oil tanker has sunk in Manila Bay after encountering huge waves, and the coast guard is working to determine whether the vessel is leaking oil — in what could be a major spill — after it rescued 16 of 17 crew members in a nighttime operation
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