Typhoon Gaemi hits China coast, sinks freighter off south Taiwan

Floods, intense rain expected over much of China as typhoon moves northwards

Typhoon Gaemi roared into south-eastern China on July 25 after sweeping across Taiwan, where it killed three people, triggered flooding and sank a freighter before barrelling west across the Taiwan Strait.

The typhoon, the biggest to hit China’s eastern seaboard in 2024, made landfall at 7.50pm in Fujian province, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The storm is forecast to unleash intense rainfall over much of China after fuelling severe weather from the Philippines to Japan’s Okinawa islands with its giant cloud bands, which spanned most of the western Pacific Ocean.

In Taiwan, the strongest typhoon to hit the island in eight years packed gusts of up to 227kmh before weakening as it made its way across the island, according to the Central Weather Administration.

Some parts of southern Taiwan have recorded accumulated rainfall of 2,200mm since July 23. The storm cut power to about half a million households, though most are now back online, said utility company Taipower.