Kong-rey makes landfall in Taiwan as strongest typhoon since 1996 and first ever after mid-OctoberTyphoon “Kong-rey” made landfall along the coast of Taiwan’s Taitung County just after 05:00 UTC on Thursday, October 31, 2024, as the strongest typhoon to hit the island since 1996 and the first to hit the country after mid-October. Kong-rey brought wind gusts exceeding 260 km/h (162 mph) and heavy rainfall that claimed at least one life and knocked power out for over half a million homes. Around 500 flights have been canceled, schools and markets have been shut down, and over 8 000 were forced to evacuate their homes.
Kong-rey peaked as a Category 4-equivalent super typhoon, with maximum sustained winds of 250 km/h (155 mph) on October 30, one day before making landfall.
The typhoon enters history books as the largest typhoon to hit Taiwan since Herb in 1996 and the first in history to make landfall in Taiwan after mid-October.
Typhoon “Kong-rey” made landfall on the coast of Taitung County on Thursday at around 05:00 UTC. During landfall, the typhoon had a minimum central pressure of approximately 925 hPa, with maximum sustained winds at the center recorded at around 184 km/h (114 mph) and gusts reaching 230 km/h (145 mph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).
Several regions, including the Hsinchu County Mountain Area, Taichung City Mountain Area, Yilan County Mountain Area, Hualien County, and Taitung County, have been placed under an “Extremely Torrential Rain Advisory” starting Thursday afternoon and lasting until Friday morning, November 1. Additional rainfall of over 500 mm (20 inches) is still possible across parts of eastern Taiwan, which could lead to flash flooding and landslides, according to the CWA.
Warnings for destructive winds over 160 km/h (100 mph) were issued for Taitung County in the east, where the outlying Lanyu Island recorded gusts exceeding 260 km/h (162 mph) before wind barometers there went offline.
The typhoon caused power outages affecting roughly half a million homes. At least one person was reported dead after being struck by a falling tree, and at least 73 have been reported injured due to the storm.
Around 34 000 soldiers have been put on standby to assist with rescue operations and more than 8 600 have been evacuated from the affected regions so far.
According to the Taiwanese Weather Administration, Kong-rey is the largest typhoon to hit the island since Typhoon “Herb” in 1996 and the first to make landfall in Taiwan after mid-October.
Nearly 500 flights across the island have been canceled including 300 international flights due to severe weather conditions induced by the typhoon. Financial markets and schools were also shut down before landfall.