Deadly Typhoon Dujuan Batters China After Lashing Taiwan

By Eric Leister, Meteorologist

September 29,2015; 10:11PM,EDT

 

 

After battering Taiwan and coastal eastern China with heavy rain and damaging wind, Dujuan has weakened to a tropical rainstorm, but will continue to cause problems through the end of the week for many.
Tropical Rainstorm Dujuan continues to spin across eastern China and will bring heavy rain through Wednesday night across the region.
A couple inches of rain can be expected from the Fujian to Jiangsu provinces as Dujuan tracks northward. Parts of Anhui province will see heavy rain as well. While widespread issues are not anticipated, some areas could experience flooding.
A couple walks through fallen trees from Typhoon Dujuan in the business district of Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. Typhoon Dujuan lashed through Taiwan late Monday, leaving hundreds of thousands without power or water. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
Due to Dujuan weakening across China, wind should not be much of an issue across these areas. However, wind will become an issue Thursday through Friday across the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
Moisture from the typhoon will interact with a frontal boundary and another storm system passing across far northern China. This merger will create a strong non-tropical system that will bring potentially flooding rain and gusty winds to Korea and Japan.
Due to the fast movement of this storm, total rainfall will generally average 25-75 mm (1-3 inches) of rain from north and west of Shanghai northeastward across South Korea and central and northern Japan from Wednesday night through Friday morning. The rain will fall quickly, with most areas experiencing only six to 12 hours of rain before drier air arrives and remains in place through the weekend.
Accompanying the rain will be locally strong winds with gusts up to 70 km/h (45 mph) with stronger gusts up to 60 mph along the coasts. No widespread damage is expected from the winds; however, the gusty winds, combined with heavy rain can result in travel disruptions across the region and sporadic power outages.
Dujuan has had a deadly and devastating history in the past few days.
The system first made landfall in Yilan County, Taiwan, late Monday afternoon local time and made a second landfall in eastern China Tuesday morning local time.

WATCH: Violent Typhoon Dujuan Smashes Into Taiwan

At least two people died and more than 300 were injured as a result of the typhoon striking Taiwan, the Associated Press reported.
Prior to reaching Taiwan, Dujuan strengthened into a powerful typhoon with winds equal to that of a Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. Interaction with Taiwan weakened the tropical cyclone significantly before a second landfall in China on Tuesday.
Despite weakening, Dujuan made landfall in the Province of Fujian, China, as a typhoon with winds near 120 km/h (75 mph). Dujuan has since moved farther inland across China, weakening into a tropical storm.
Rainfall of 75 to 150 mm (3-6 inches) was common from Xiamen, China, northward to Fuding as Dujuan moved inland across China.
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West Pacific Typhoon Center
Detailed Forecast for Taipei, Taiwan
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The far southern Ryukyu Islands faced the full fury of Dujuan Monday as the core of the typhoon brought wind gusts over 160 km/h (100 mph) to the Yaeyama Islands. Winds peaked at 291 km/h (181 mph) in Yonagunijima, one of the strongest wind gust ever reported in Japan. This comes on the heels of typhoons Goni and Soudelor slamming similar areas over the past two months.
Winds peaked at 246 km/h (153 mph) in Su'ao Township, Taiwan, as Dujuan made landfall Monday evening local time. Even though the typhoon weakened as it crossed the rugged terrain of Taiwan, strong wind gusts are still possible across much of the island, especially the north half through Tuesday.
Rainfall surpassed 700 mm (around 28 inches) in parts of northern Taiwan as the powerful typhoon lashed the island from Monday into Tuesday.
Satellite loop of Typhoon Dujuan (Image/NOAA).
Taipei was lashed with winds over 70 mph for several hours along with rainfall in excess of 225 mm (9 inches) at the international airport. Meanwhile, eastern parts of the city have reported in excess of 600 mm (24 inches) of rain. While additional showers are possible through Wednesday, the threat for new flooding has ended.
AccuWeather will continue to provide updates and more details on the projected track of Dujuan and hazards to life and property.
Contributions by Meteorologist Adam Douty and Jordan Root.