Soudelor Turns Deadly While Slamming Taiwan and China

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

August 9,2015; 11:12PM,EDT

 

 

Soudelor has taken nearly two dozen lives and disrupted daily activities for millions of people in Taiwan and China this weekend.
The once super typhoon, now Tropical Rainstorm Soudelor has been responsible for flooding, mudslides, pounding surf and high winds from Taiwan to eastern China.

TIMELAPSE: Typhoon Soudelor As Seen From Space

Despite successful swift water rescues and hundreds of thousands of people being evacuated, the number dead or missing from Soudelor has climbed to 22 with more than four million homes without power, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Five people died and 185 others were injured as a result of the typhoon in Taiwan. Among the dead are an 8-year-old girl and her mother who were swept out to sea on Thursday.
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Advanced warning of the storm was given, otherwise the death toll could have been much higher.
In the China province of Zhejiang, nine people were killed and three others were missing the AP stated.
Soudelor slammed into Taiwan's Hualien County early Saturday morning local time (late Friday afternoon EDT).
A man carrying an umbrella passes a mangled rooftop brought down by strong winds from Typhoon Soudelor in Taipei, Taiwan, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
Soudelor then made its final landfall early on Saturday night (late on Saturday morning EDT) near the coastal city of Quanzhou, China, with its strength equal to that of Category 1 hurricane.

High Winds, Rain Batter Taiwan as Soudelor Makes Landfall

In the 24 hours ending on Saturday night (local time), an observation site in the Wencheng District of Zhejiang Province was inundated with 420.2 mm (16.54 inches) of rain, according to Weather China. Winds gusted to 131 kph (82 mph) at Fuzhou, China.
According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Eric Leister, as of Sunday evening (local time), several cities were reporting very heavy rainfall amounts from Soudelor.
"Fuzhou received slightly over 300 mm (12 inches) from Soudelor as of Sunday evening (local time)," Leister said. "Fuding received close to 300 mm, with 180 mm (7 inches) falling on Jiuxian Shan."
The heaviest rain has bypassed Hong Kong. The weather remained dry and hot in Hong Kong. The city broke its all-time record high of 36.1 C (97.0 F) from Aug. 18, 1990, when temperatures soared to 36.3 C (97.3 F) on Saturday. Record keeping in Hong Kong began in 1884, with a gap in coverage during World War II.
Soudelor brought flooding rain and strong winds to Taiwan (Twitter Photo/@GridSageGames)
Prior to targeting Taiwan and China, the center of Soudelor passed directly over the island of Saipan to the north of Guam with Category 2 hurricane-force winds on Sunday night.
Winds to near 170 kph (105 mph) were reported on Saipan as the eyewall of Soudelor passed over the island. Guam to the south was largely spared any damaging winds as gusts reached 50 to 65 kph (30 to 40 mph) for several hours.
Soudelor rapidly intensified on Monday after departing Saipan, and became a super typhoon (Category 5 hurricane). Soudelor reached peak intensity late on Monday with winds near 290 kph (180 mph) making it the strongest tropical cyclone anywhere on the planet so far this year.
Before reaching China, a wind gust of nearly 130 mph was recorded at Su'ao on the northeast coast of Taiwan. A wind gust of over 140 mph occurred in the southernmost Ryukyu Islands of Japan.
A street corner is filled with a mangled rooftop brought down by strong winds from Typhoon Soudelor in Taipei, Taiwan, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
A mountaintop in Datong Township in Yilan County, Taiwan was inundated with 1,303 mm (51.3 inches of rain). In Taipei, Taiwan, the typhoon unleashed 306 mm of rain and winds gusted to 141 kph (87 mph).
As Soudelor diminishes and turns toward the northeast, heavy rain and flooding will continue to be a problem in parts of eastern China and will spread to South Korea and a portion of Japan.

Meteorologists Chyna Glenn, Kristina Pydynowski and Alex Sosnowski contributed content to this story.