Typhoon Soudelor impacts: at least 17 killed; Grade-IV emergency issued for hard-hit areas in China

Posted on August 9, 2015 by The Extinction Protocol

August 2015 – TAIWAN – Typhoon Soudelor battered Taiwan and China on Saturday, killing at least 17, leaving nine missing and causing millions of dollars in damage. Five people were killed while the storm besieged Taiwan, including a mother and daughter swept out to sea, two men killed by falling debris in separate incidents and another man pulled from a mudslide. At least twelve died when the storm caused mudslides and flooding in China. Officials issued a grade-IV emergency, the lowest emergency level, for areas hard-hit by Soudelor in China, Xinhua News Agency reported. Two teams were dispatched to Zhejiang and Fujian provinces to aid those affected by the storm.

Agricultural damage in Taiwan is estimated to cost around $18.9 million, says the Taipei Times. Damage in China has been calculated at $617 million, according to Xinhua News Agency. Taiwan’s Ministry of Education reported academic institutional damage reached $4 million nationwide, Taiwan News reported. At least 812 schools were damaged. At one point during the storm, over 4 million Taipower customers were rendered powerless, a record number of outages previously held by Typhoon Herb, which left 2.79 million powerless in 1996, according to the utility.

The BBC reported an eastern Taitung County resident told Formosa TV, “I’ve never seen such a powerful typhoon in my 60 years.” Local authorities reported at least 12 people were killed when mudslides and flooding swept through Zhejiang Province, China, Saturday night, collapsing several homes, Xinhuan News Agency reported. Another five people are missing. A man was killed in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, after he was struck by a falling tree Saturday afternoon, Taiwan News reported. Another man died when he was struck by a falling billboard in Su’ao Township late Friday night, the report added.

An 8-year-old girl and her mother died when they were swept out to sea by strong waves as the storm neared land, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported. The girl’s twin sister remains missing along the beach in the northeastern county of Yilan, the report added. Before the storm made landfall in China, more than 1.4 million homes in Fujian province were left without power as strong winds blasted the region, the Associated Press reported. The city of Fuzhou, China, was slammed by heavy rains, leaving over 10,000 trees strewn about the city and stranding vehicles in floodwaters, Xinhua News Agency reported. Authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 163,000 people in southeast China and called 32,000 ships back to port ahead of the storm, the AP added.

Thousands of police and soldiers were on standby to aid those affected by Soudelor. On Saturday afternoon, marine police rescued 55 university students and teachers trapped on a small island where they had been attending a summer camp, after strong gales stopped ferry services, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported. At least 185 people were injured during the storm in Taiwan. Aside from injuries, residents and others woke to streets in Taipei littered with trees, power lines and other debris. –Weather

Dangerous: Super Typhoon Soudelor intensifies as the strongest storm of 2015, wind gusts 220 mph

Posted on August 4, 2015 by The Extinction Protocol

August 2015 – TAIWAN – Soudelor is intensifying rapidly over the western Pacific Ocean after raking through Saipan, a U.S. commonwealth in the Northern Mariana Islands, Sunday night and early Monday. Super Typhoon Soudelor became the fifth super typhoon of this year Monday after undergoing a replacement of its eyewall, a process which occurs in all intense tropical cyclones. A super typhoon is defined by sustained wind speeds of at least 150 mph. According to Monday’s 5 p.m. EDT bulletin from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Soudelor had strengthened into the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (one-minute average) with gusts to 220 mph. 

Soudelor has maintained its strength and as of 11 p.m. EDT Monday, Soudelor continues to have maximum sustained winds of 180 mph and some additional strengthening is possible. Low wind shear and very warm sea surface temperatures have allowed Soudelor to ramp up quickly; the cyclone was just a minimal typhoon 36 hours earlier. Soudelor continues to track to the west-northwest over the open waters of the Western Pacific. Soudelor has become the strongest tropical cyclone seen anywhere on Earth so far in 2015, at least by JTWC satellite estimation. Cyclone Pam in March reached peak estimated sustained winds of about 165 mph (145 knots) in the South Pacific basin. On this path, Soudelor will move toward Japan’s southwestern Ryukyu islands by Friday.

For now, the main island of Okinawa (including Kadena Air Base) lies at the north end of the forecast swath, but it remains far too soon to rule out a closer pass of the center of Soudelor to Okinawa. Taiwan and China are also likely to be impacted by Soudelor this weekend. Even though it may be weakening by then, Soudelor could still be a very strong typhoon. Its center may pass directly over Taipei, the Taiwanese capital. Intensifying from a Category 1 to Category 2 equivalent storm, Soudelor’s eye passed directly over the Island of Saipan, home to about 48,000 residents. A state of disaster and significant emergency was declared by Acting Gov. Ralph DLG Torres.

High winds downed power poles, removed roofs off buildings and flooded Saipan’s power plant. About 350 people were in emergency shelters, as of Monday morning, the Pacific Daily News reported. “From looking at the damage, I would guess weeks to months to restore power. It took about three to six months to restore service on Guam after Pongsona,” Dr. Phillip Dauterman told the Pacific Daily News in an email. “This is not the total damage of Pongsona, but it is close.” Saipan International Airport recorded a peak wind gust to 91 mph just before 11 p.m. local time Sunday night, as the western eyewall approached, before wind observations dropped off — not to mention the instrumentation erroneously reported snow — for about an hour.

Soudelor passed north of Guam but wind gusts over 30 mph and light rain were measured. High surf from Soudelor will continue for the next few days. Soudelor, a name contributed by the Federated States of Micronesia, was a legendary chief on the island of Pohnpei, about 1,650 kilometers (1025 miles) east-southeast of Guam. –Weather

Clashes as Taiwan students storm government HQ

Students storm Taiwanese government HQ amid trade deal row

Taiwanese police have clashed with hundreds of students who occupied government headquarters to protest at a trade deal with China.

Police used water cannon and dragged out students one by one, clearing the building by dawn on Monday.
Close to 60 people were arrested and more than 100 hurt, reports said.
The protesters say the agreement with China would hurt Taiwan's economy and leave it vulnerable to pressure from Beijing.
Another group of students and activists have occupied Taiwan's parliament since early last week.
The BBC's Cindy Sui in Taipei says the students wants more scrutiny over all future dealings with China, including any trade agreements.
They also want the current deal - which would allow the two sides to invest more freely in each other's services markets - to be scrapped.

There were angry demonstrations outside government headquarters on Sunday

Police grappled with protesters who broke into the building

Water cannon were used to disperse the protesters

Dozens of people were hurt in the clashes, police said, with many arrested

The governing Kuomintang party says it is determined to ratify the deal with Beijing, which it says will boost the economy and create jobs.
China formally regards Taiwan as a part of its territory, despite the island governing itself for six decades.
Trading partners The protests began early last week after ruling party MPs said a joint committee had completed its review of the pact, which was signed in June 2013 but has not yet been ratified by MPs.
Students broke into the legislature late on Tuesday and have since defied police efforts to evict them, using barricades made of furniture.
On Friday thousands of people rallied to support the students, and the the opposition Democratic Progressive Party has also backed them.
On Sunday, President Ma Ying-jeou said that the occupation of parliament broke the law, adding: "I must say that [the pact] is completely for the sake of Taiwan's economic future."
Late on Sunday, some protesters pushed past riot police to storm the government headquarters, pulling down barbed wire and using ladders to access second-floor offices.
Violent clashes erupted as police moved to restore order.
China is Taiwan's biggest trading partner and in recent years ties between the two have improved.
The two sides split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
Earlier this year, however, they held their first direct government-to-government talks. In the past, all talks have gone via quasi-official organisations.
They have also signed several trade and investment agreements in recent years - but some fear greater economic integration with China could threaten Taiwan.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26705779