With gusts of 227 kph, Meranti is the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in 21 years.
The News Lens
Date: 2016/09/14
By: TNL Staff
More than 550,000 households in Taiwan were without electricity on Wednesday as Super Typhoon
Photo Credit：爆料公社
Meranti crossed the Bashi Channel and grazed the southernmost parts of the country, bringing powerful winds and torrential rain.
With gusts of more than 227 kph — the strongest ever recorded by the Hengchun meteorological station since it was set up in 1896 — Meranti is the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan since 1995, the Central Weather Bureau said. The Category 5 Meranti is also the world’s strongest storm this year.
As of 3 pm, total rainfall accumulations had reached 707 mm in Pingtung’s West Dawu (西大武山), 436 mm in Hualien’s Tienhsiang (天祥), 369 mm in Taitung’s Shangli (上里) and 304 mm at Yilan’s Taipingshan (太平山).
About 1,000 people in mountainous areas in southern parts of the country have been evacuated, primarily in Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District and Chiayi’s Meishan District. [FULL STORY]
