Nearly 200 Injured As Typhoon Reaches Taiwan

Typhoon Koinu has made landfall, with it touching the rural far southern tip of Taiwan, Asia on Thursday.

The storm has been credited with injuring at least 190 but has currently caused no deaths, with heavy rain and strong winds cancelling work and school for many of the inhabitants on the island.

The heaviest rain is currently falling along the sparsely populated parts of Pingtung county in the south and the counties of Taitung and Hualien which are on the east coast of the island.

What does Koinu mean?

Koinu is a Japanese word and means “puppy.”

A cute name perhaps, but certainly a serious prospect given the nature of the storm, with it being categorised as strength four, which can involve winds with speeds of up to a whopping 156mph.

It is, however, forecast to get weaker as it moves into the Taiwan Strait and then towards China, according to a report from Tropical Storm Risk.

How has the typhoon impacted Taiwan?

As mentioned, the typhoon has caused a swathe of injuries to people on the island but has not yet claimed the life of anyone.

Taiwan’s fire department has reported a total of 190 injuries but, as yet, no deaths, whilst also reporting that there has been some minor damage to buildings caused by the weather.

It was a stay at home day for many on the island, meanwhile, as authorities sought to keep the general public safe from the weather.

Most cities and counties on the island declared that Thursday would be a day off of work and school for adults and children, though the capital of Taiwan, Taipei, was not affected by the weather and has remained open for business – with things operating there as usual.

Away from general work and school, there were also cancellations involving the aviation industry.

UNI Air and Mandarin Airlines, which are the two main domestic carriers in the island country, cancelled most of their flights for Thursday, while ferries to other islands off of the coast of Taiwan were also stopped thanks to very choppy sea water.