3 Dead, Over 100 Injured After Typhoon Nepartak Clobbers Taiwan; 'Streets ... Look Like a Bomb Has Gone Off'

Eric Chaney
Published: July 8,2016

Typhoon Nepartak is now spinning in the Taiwan Strait, after leaving three people dead and more than 100 injured in Taiwan. The storm came ashore in southeastern Taiwan as the equivalent of a Category 4 just after 6:30 a.m. local time Friday morning, but has been downgraded several levels as it moves toward China.
"As anticipated, Taiwan's mountainous terrain weakened Nepartak considerably," said weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. "However, regardless of its intensity, heavy rainfall will continue to be a concern in Taiwan and southeast China, likely triggering areas of flooding into the weekend."
One of the deceased was a Taiwanese soldier who was found dead Friday morning after falling into the ocean off Dongyin Island in the Taiwan Strait Thursday, according to Taiwan's Central Emergency Operation Center. The other fatality was a man that drowned off a beach in Hualien County Thursday. A 71-year-old woman died from severe wounds after being hit by a falling piece of furniture, Focus Taiwan reports.
(MORE: Check the Forecast for Nepartak)
The massive storm came ashore about 10 miles south of Taitung City, packing winds around 150 mph, damaging structures and dumping torrential rainfall on parts of the island nation.
"The streets already look like a bomb has gone off, and this is just the start of it... crazy power," professional stunt rider Dave McKenna, who is currently in Taiwan, said on his Instagram account as the storm rolled in. "I've been in some back home in Australia but nothing like this," he said.
Storm trackers rode out the western half of the typhoon as it arrived in Taiwan during the overnight hours and into Friday morning, and reported damage to buildings and numerous trees downed by the massive storm.

"I'm hiding in a stairwell, so I'm OK, but it's a different story out there," said storm tracker James Reynolds during a Periscope broadcast Friday morning. He took shelter in a shop just minutes before damaging winds blew out the doors in the entry to the building, nearly sucking the store owner out into the storm.
President Tsai Ing-wen issued a mandatory evacuation order for Orchid and Green islands ahead of the storm, according to Radio New Zealand. Some 3,000 tourists were moved from those two islands, which were battered ahead of Nepartak's expected landfall on the main island.
(MORE: Wind Data Was Off the Charts Well Before Landfall)
Taiwanese authorities reported that more than 15,400 people have been evacuated from 14 counties and cities.
About 520,000 households were affected by power cuts, predominately in Pingtung and Taitung counties, according to TaiPower.
Taiwan's Central Emergency Operations Center spokesman Li Wei-sen told AP that more than 500 domestic and international flights have been canceled and others were delayed.
"Yes, I am worried about it, same as everyone here," fisherman Chen Chun-po told the AP.
Defense minister Feng Shih-kuan told the China Post that the government deployed 3,000 troops into areas susceptible to flooding across the country ahead of the storm to help with flood-control measures. A total of 35,800 troops were deployed countrywide to help with relief efforts, according to Taiwan News.
Ferry service from Taiwan's outer islands to the main island was suspended Wednesday and was expected to remain closed until Saturday at the earliest, Taiwan News also reported.

(MORE: Birth and Track of a Monster Storm)
Taiwan's eastern coast isn't as heavily populated as other regions of the country, but the jagged terrain raises the threat of mudslides and flooding any time a large tropical system hits the area.
The name "Nepartak" comes from that of a Micronesian warrior.