Super typhoon Nepartak with winds of 240 km/h swept through Taiwan with heavy rain and whirlwinds, leaving many places devastated as if in wartime.
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Super Typhoon Nepartak made landfall in Taitung City, Taiwan at 5:50 a.m. today. Strong winds ripped off roofs and tossed cars. At least one person was killed and 65 injured. |
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Parts of Taiwan recorded 300 mm of rain in just 12 hours, and the situation is expected to worsen further in central and southern Taiwan. Taiwan's mountainous terrain caused Super Typhoon Nepartak to weaken into a typhoon as it moved further inland. |
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At its peak, Nepartak was nearly as strong as 2015 super typhoon Soudelor, which caused billions of dollars in damage to Taiwan and mainland China and killed at least 36 people. |
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Nepartak was the strongest typhoon Taiwan has seen in six years and the first to hit the island in 2016, ending a 200-day streak without a typhoon forming in the region. On social media, meteorologists and storm chasers shared their amazement at Nepartak's shape and size, describing it as a "near perfect" super typhoon. |
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Cars were tossed around like children's toys by the storm. Flights to Taoyuan International Airport were canceled this morning, and at least two rail lines were shut down. Taiwan had to evacuate more than 15,000 people. |
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The typhoon is expected to make landfall in China tomorrow. Chinese officials fear the storm will wreak havoc in southeastern China, which is already suffering its worst flooding since 1998. |
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CNN quoted witnesses describing many places in Taiwan as looking like they had just been bombed, with widespread power outages. |
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Taiwanese authorities fear the risk of widespread flooding, especially in southern counties. |
According to VNE