Powerful typhoon hits Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan—Typhoon Soudelor released its fury on the island of Taiwan early Saturday, churning ocean waves, knocking down trees and storefront signs, and wiping out power for more than 3.6 million residents. The storm, which is now headed toward mainland China, left six dead, four missing, and 101 injured in Taiwan.

A mother and her 8-year-old daughter died as they were dragged into the sea Thursday on a beach in the northeastern Yilan County. The girl’s twin sister remains missing. One man drowned in his flooded home and falling tree crushed another man, according to Reuters.

Here in the capital city, winds twisted and ripped up metal store signs, uprooted trees, and scattered parked scooters and bikes along the road. One park along the Tamsui River had basketball hoops halfway submerged in debris-filled water.

The storm’s center hit the eastern coast of Taiwan at 4:40 a.m. local time Saturday, with wind gusts of up to 143 mph and maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau. Taipingshan in Yilan County reported a record 49 inches of rain, while Taipei saw about 12 inches. Hundreds of airline flights were canceled, and more than 9,900 people were evacuated from their homes.

Reports of the typhoon had consumed Taiwan news during the week before landfall, as the U.S. military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said that at its peak on Monday Typhoon Soudelor was the strongest tropical cyclone recorded so far in 2015. Many feared the storm would be comparable to 2009’s Typhoon Morakot, which killed 461 people and left 192 missing.

For this reporter, who lives in an apartment in the heart of Taipei, the anxiety set in on Friday as I made my way from Kenting on the southern tip of Taiwan back to capital, hoping to beat Soudelor to my front door. Buses and the country’s 186-mph High Speed Rail thankfully continued running during the day, as ominous clouds settled in overhead and winds began picking up speed.

By Friday afternoon, I had made it home with only a few licks of rain falling from the sky and quickly ran across the street to stock up at the local grocery store. In the crowded underground supermarket, posters displayed a “typhoon promotion” with the store giving away $1 for every $10 spent. On the loudspeaker an announcer listed typhoon essentials: water, snacks, canned goods, and all the ingredients for “hot pot,” a meal involving a communal pot of boiling soup to cook raw meats and vegetables. Back home with instant noodles and imported salsa and tortilla chips, I readied myself to wait out the storm.

Overhead, the sky turned a reddish tinge, as clouds sped across they sky. By 10:30 p.m. Friday, winds were howling and rain had begun falling sideways. Through the night, the winds continued to pick up speed, swirling the rain in patterns on the main boulevard, bending trees at the nearby park. With the heaving sighs of the wind, my 12th floor apartment—one side made completely of thick glass—seemed to sway and shake with the wind.

At 4:20 a.m. Saturday, just before the center of the storm made landfall, the typhoon seemed to peak in its rage, with the rain flying upward at the mercy of the wind. Suddenly the street lights along the main thoroughfare went out, drowning the night into an inky blackness and leaving me only with terrifying sounds: the whistle of the wind followed by a loud “BOOM!” as something fell and crashed to the ground.

As the sky lightened, the rain let up, and for the first time, I could see the damage in the small alley below. The tin patio overhang of an old building across the alley had been stripped off and debris was lying on the grass. Signs were torn down and the trees on the park next to me seemed permanently bent backward by the wind.

Throughout Saturday morning the wind continued to let up, until 1 p.m. when I dared to venture outside to eat at a busy Japanese beef bowl restaurant down the street. As I chatted with friends and watched the Taiwan news, it seemed the storm had been the strongest many locals had experienced, yet still its destruction remained much less than what Typhoon Morakot caused six years ago. It reminded me of a God big enough to create super typhoons yet also merciful enough to protect me in the face of these storms.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.