Taipei – August 2025
As Typhoon Podul rages towards southern Taiwan, bringing wind gusts of up to 191 km/h (118 mph), thousands of people have been evacuated, schools closed, and hundreds of flights cancelled.
Expected to strike Taitung County on Taiwan’s largely undeveloped southeast coast around midday local time (04:00 GMT) Wednesday, the mid-strength storm should then cross the more heavily populated west into the Taiwan Strait toward China’s Fujian province.
According to Central Weather Administration forecaster Lin Tingyi, Podul “is strengthening,” with expected precipitation totals in southern mountainous areas over the next few days reaching 600 mm (almost 24 inches).
Nine cities and counties—including Kaohsiung and Tainan, the southern centers—have stopped schools and labor. While the transport ministry verified the cancellation of 252 local flights and 129 foreign ones, the government reported more than 5,500 evacuations. EVA Air and China Airlines, the main carriers, called off Kaohsiung flights, and some Taoyuan International Airport services were also impacted.
So far, the financial markets of Taipei have been free from harm thanks to clear, bright skies.
Following Typhoon Danas in early July, which claimed two lives and wounded hundreds, the storm dropped 500 mm (19.6 inches) of rain throughout the south. Torrential rains from July 28 to August 4, which left five dead, three missing, and 78 wounded, with some regions getting over a year’s worth of rain in one week, added onto that.
Though Taiwan often sees tropical storms between July and October, experts advise that climate change is increasing severe weather trends in the area.
