Typhoon Gaemi passes over Taiwan, heads to Chinese coast

TAIPEI/BEIJING — Typhoon Gaemi blew through northern Taiwan on July 25, bringing floods and leading to traffic snarls, before heading across the sea and into China where it is expected to bring further torrential rain.

Gaemi made landfall on the northeastern coast of Taiwan on the borders of Yilan and Hualien counties, and as of 7am it was in the Taiwan Strait and taking aim at Fuzhou in China's Fujian province.

It is expected to bring further rain across Taiwan, with offices and schools as well as the financial markets closed for a second day on July 25.

Trains, including the high speed line linking northern and southern Taiwan, will be closed until 3pm, with all domestic flights and 185 international flights cancelled for the day.

The government said only two people had died, with 266 injuries. Taiwanese television stations showed pictures of flooded streets in cities and counties across the island.

Chinese weather forecasters said Gaemi will pass through Fujian and head inland, gradually moving northward with less intensity. But weather forecasters are expecting heavy rain in many areas as it tracks north.

Government officials have already prepared for a stretch of heavy rain and flooding — raising advisories and warnings in the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang.

Meanwhile, north China is experiencing heavy rain from summer storms around a separate weather system. Officials in capital Beijing upgraded and issued a red warning late on the night of July 24 for torrential rain expected through most of July 25, according to Chinese state media.

The Beijing Fangshan District Meteorological Observatory expects that by 10am, many parts of the city will have more than 150mm of rainfall in six hours, and in some other areas more than 200mm in 24 hours, state television reported.

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