Typhoon Kong-rey hits Taiwan – BBC News

It is unusual for a typhoon of this size to come so late in the year. Taiwan’s typhoon season generally falls between July and September, according to the weather bureau.

Over the past eighty years, all the strongest typhoons have come within that window. But this year, two massive storms hit Taiwan in October – the other being Super Typhoon Krathon, which killed four people and injured more than 700.

“I am 70 years old,” a man in Hualien told a TV reporter, “and I have never seen a typhoon hit so late in the year.”

Ocean scientists have reported near-record levels of global sea surface temperatures since July, meaning there is more heat energy on the ocean’s surface to fuel storm systems.

Aside from the extreme wind speeds of typhoons, one of the biggest threats to life from these storms is often the enormous amount of moisture they carry, which can lead to excessive rainfall, flooding and landslides.

The deadliest storm to hit Taiwan in recent decades was Typhoon Morakot in August 2009. The Category 1 storm dumped 2,777 mm of rain on the south of the island, causing flash floods and landslides that killed nearly 900 people.

The eastern part of Taiwan, which will be hardest hit by Typhoon Kong-rey, could see up to 1,200 mm of rain between October 29 and November 1, according to forecasters at the island’s weather bureau.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has put 36,000 soldiers on alert for possible rescue operations.

Kong-rey is expected to gradually weaken after making landfall and passing through Taiwan. The storm should leave the island on Friday, the weather bureau said.