Typhoon Champi Batters Taiwan as Region Braces for Impact Taiwan has suspended work, classes, and stock market operations as Typhoon Champi makes landfall, bringing life-threatening winds and torrential rain. The storm, which features a 320km radius, is expected to envelop the entire island through Saturday. Authorities have reported one death—a person swept away by waves near Liuqiu—and at least 94 injuries. In response to the severe conditions, the government has evacuated over 1,000 residents, particularly those living downstream from a landslide dam in Hualien that officials fear could breach. The Central Weather Administration has issued high-level warnings, with mountainous regions in the north and northeast bracing for up to 900mm of rainfall and wind gusts reaching level 12 on the Beaufort scale. Transportation has been severely disrupted, with hundreds of domestic and international flights cancelled across Taiwan and Japan. Following its passage over Taiwan, the typhoon is forecast to skirt China’s eastern coast before moving toward Japan and South Korea over the weekend. Meteorologists attribute the intensity and frequency of this season's storms to an unusually strong El Niño, which has significantly warmed the Pacific Ocean.