Kong-rey makes landfall in Taiwan as strongest typhoon since 1996 and first ever after mid-October
Typhoon “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.
Satellite image of Typhoon "Kong-rey" making landfall in Taiwan at 05:00 UTC on October 31, 2024. Credit: JMA/Himawari-9, RAMMB/CIRA, The Watchers
- 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.
Several regions including Hualian and Taichung are experiencing severe flooding due to the typhoon’s impact that has brought heavy rains and destructive winds to the island.
A small landslide struck lane 199 on Xiwan Road, in Xizhi district causing significant damage to a carport below.
As of 06:00 UTC on Wednesday, Kong-rey’s center was located approximately 40 km (25 miles) north-northeast (NNE) of Taitung and 150 km (93 miles) NNE of Matsu, The typhoon is forecast to continue turning NNE at a rate of 17 km/h (11 mph), accelerating to 24 km/h (15 mph) over the next 24 hours.
The system is expected to continue moving NNE; however, interactions with Taiwan’s rugged terrain could cause erratic track changes. It is forecast to keep weakening and start interacting with the baroclinic zone over the next 48 hours, leading to further weakening as it begins its extratropical transition.
CWA forecaster Gene Huang said after hitting the east coast it would head towards the Taiwan Strait as a much weakened storm and urged people across the island to stay at home due to the danger of high winds.
References:
1 Typhoon Sea and Land Warning – CWA – Issued at 06:30 UTC on October 31, 2024
2 Extremely heavy rain advisory – CWA – October 31, 2024
3 TYPHOON KONG-REY Sea and Land Typhoon Warning – CWA – Issued at 06:30 UTC on October 31, 2024
4 PROGNOSTIC REASONING FOR TYPHOON 23W (KONG-REY) WARNING NR 025 – JTWC – Issued at 03:00 UTC on October 31, 2024
5 Taiwan shuts down as strong Typhoon Kong-rey strikes east coast – Reuters – October 31, 2024
6 Typhoon Kong-rey bashes Taiwan, the largest storm to hit island since 1996 – CNN – October 31, 2024
7 颱風康芮挾強風豪雨撲台 花蓮泥流狂瀉淹路、鐵皮屋頂吹掀【圖輯】- CNA – October 31, 2024
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