Taiwan ground to a halt on Friday as Typhoon Champi, the 30th typhoon of the year, lashed the island with destructive winds and torrential rain. Offices, schools and financial markets closed, 931 flights were cancelled, and emergency officials reported one person killed and between 94 and 171 injured as gusts of up to 191 kilometres per hour battered the east coast.
The Central Weather Administration said the storm’s outer bands were pounding the island through the day, with the heaviest damage reported in the east and south. More than 1,300 people were evacuated from vulnerable areas as rivers swelled and landslides threatened mountain communities. The stock exchange suspended trading, a rare step that underlines the storm’s severity.
A familiar ordeal
Taiwan is no stranger to typhoons, but Champi’s timing and track made it particularly disruptive. As the 30th named storm of the season, it caps an unusually active year in the western Pacific. Emergency response teams were pre-positioned across the island, and the military was placed on standby to assist with evacuations and road clearance. Officials urged residents to stay indoors as flying debris became the main cause of injuries.
The economic disruption extends beyond the cancelled flights. With markets closed and much of the workforce at home, the storm will leave a mark on the week’s economic data. Supply chains through the region, already strained by geopolitical tensions, face fresh delays as ports suspend operations.
Recovery begins
As the storm moves away, attention turns to damage assessment and restoring power and transport links. Taiwan’s disaster response system, hardened by decades of typhoon seasons, is among the most effective in the world, and early reports suggest the casualty count, while tragic, was limited by timely evacuations. The region’s wider security picture has been turbulent this week. For continuing coverage of the storm’s aftermath, see international reporting on Champi, and our earlier health desk coverage of the week’s other major stories.
