By Typhoon Haikui wreaked havoc in Taiwan on Monday, toppling numerous trees, causing damage to coastal roads, and unleashing heavy rains before weakening into a severe storm and heading toward southern China.
Initially, Haikui had appeared to move away from the island, but it made a second landfall in the early hours of Monday in southwest Kaohsiung. Subsequently, it was downgraded to a severe tropical storm as it ventured into the Taiwan Strait.
While there were no reported fatalities, significant destruction was observed in coastal Taitung, a mountainous region in eastern Taiwan with a lower population density, where the storm directly hit the previous day.
Chen Hai-feng, a 55-year-old village chief in Taitung’s Donghe township, described the unprecedented strength of the wind gusts, saying, “I’ve lived here for so long, and I have never seen such wind gusts.” He and his work crew were busy removing fallen trees from the rain-soaked roads.
In the coastal Changbin township to the north, workers transported massive concrete blocks to a coastal highway that had partially collapsed due to powerful waves. These blocks were intended to absorb the impact of the waves, and bright orange barriers were placed near the edge of the road to prevent vehicles from skidding on the slippery surface.
Although Haikui was considered less severe than some previous storms, Chen noted that it felt more powerful because it directly passed through their area.
Haikui, marking the first typhoon landfall in Taiwan in four years, necessitated the evacuation of over 7,000 people across the island, particularly in landslide-prone mountainous regions. The storm resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the closure of businesses.
A forecaster from Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau explained that initially, Haikui had appeared to move away from the island and out to sea but unexpectedly made a second landfall in Kaohsiung early in the morning. As it continued along the coastline, the terrain caused damage to the typhoon’s structure, gradually weakening it.
By midday, the storm had shifted southwest of Taiwan’s outlying island of Penghu, but it still brought heavy rain and strong winds to the south and northeast.
In Kaohsiung, the local government reported numerous fallen trees and flooding in various areas, though conditions were improving as the storm moved away. Authorities noted that nearly 80 people sustained minor injuries during the typhoon, primarily due to fallen trees and car accidents.
