The huge storm came ashore about 10 miles south of Taitung City, bringing with it winds of around 150 mph, damaging structures and dumping torrential rainfall on parts of the island nation.
“As anticipated, Taiwan’s mountainous terrain weakened Nepartak considerably,” said weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. “However, regardless of its intensity, heavy rainfall will continue to be a concern in Taiwan and southeast China, likely triggering areas of flooding into the weekend.”
About 15,400 people were evacuated from their homes in anticipation of the storm in Taiwan, while in southeastern China, 37,521 people have been relocated in the coastal city of Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province as China awaits Nepartak’s arrival.
The storm left over 188,000 households in Taiwan without power and forced the cancellation of 600 flights as well as the Bullet train service. The storm’s strong winds blew roofs off huts as vehicles and street signs were tossed through the air.
The storm weakened as it passed over the island before leaving southwest Tainan City at around 2.30 p.m., heading for eastern China. There were 142 people injured in the storm, mostly due to flying glass falling in the streets while trying to escape the powerful winds.
Of the three deaths, it was learned that one was a soldier who fell into the sea off Dongyin Island. The second death was a man who drowned off a beach in Hualien county, and the third, a 71-year-old woman who died from injuries after being hit by falling furniture, according to the Straits Times.
#Typhoon #Nepartak dumped 1-2 feet of rain in #Taiwan. More #China #flood woes ahead? pic.twitter.com/2r5riEEXAh
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) July 8, 2016
China has prepared as much as possible for Nepartak, reports Xinhuanet.com. The storm was expected to reach the coast of coast of Fujian Province on Saturday morning. The National Meteorological Center said the typhoon will continue to bring gales and torrential rain to coastal regions of Fujian and Zhejiang from Friday to Saturday
Rail and air transportation have already been suspended in Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces. Zhejiang’s maritime monitoring center has predicted waves as high as three to four meters on Saturday night in waters south of the province.
