Typhoon Podul blows through southern Taiwan leaving one person missing
Waves generated by Typhoon Podul break along the coast in Kaohsiung on Aug 13, 2025. (Photo: AFP/I-Hwa Cheng)
TAIPEI: Typhoon Podul blew through southern Taiwan on Wednesday (Aug 13), packing winds of up to 191kmh and leaving one person missing, as a large swathe of the island shut down and hundreds of flights were cancelled.
Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons, generally along its mountainous east coast facing the Pacific.
Podul slammed into the southeastern city of Taitung around 1pm local time, passed through the southern tip of the island and then into the Taiwan Strait some three hours later, Taiwan's Central Weather Administration said.
It is expected to next make landfall on China's southern coast late on Wednesday or early Thursday, affecting Fujian and Guangdong provinces, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
One person is missing after he went fishing and was swept away, and 33 have been injured, the National Fire Agency said.
In the capital Taipei, home to Taiwan's financial markets, there were blustery winds but no impact.
More than 7,300 people have been evacuated from their homes, and trees and signs have been toppled, as the storm sweeps across central and southern regions still recovering from storms last month.
"Kaohsiung, Tainan and Chiayi will become major rainfall hotspots tonight, with increasing rain also expected in Penghu and Kinmen," CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen told a briefing attended by President Lai Ching-te.
FLIGHTS SCRAPPED, SCHOOLS SHUT
All domestic flights were cancelled on Wednesday - 252 in total - while 155 international flights were also called off, the transport ministry said.
Taiwan's two main international carriers China Airlines and EVA Air said their cancellations were focused on routes out of Kaohsiung, with some flights from the island's main international airport at Taoyuan stopped as well.
In response to queries from CNA, Singapore Airlines (SIA) said flight SQ877 was cancelled on Wednesday due to the flight crew "exceeding their regulatory flight time limits" as a result of the delayed inbound aircraft into Taiwan.
The airline is also providing necessary assistance to the affected passengers, including "providing meal vouchers, hotel accommodation and the rebooking of connecting flights".
SQ876, which was heading to Taipei, was diverted to Hong Kong International Airport due to "adverse weather conditions" caused by the typhoon. The flight landed subsequently departed and landed in Taiwan.
Additionally, Scoot on Wednesday said flight TR877 which was originally scheduled to depart Taipei for Singapore at 4.30pm local time had been cancelled as a precautionary measure due to "inclement weather" caused by Typhoon Podul.
The airline said it was assisting to reaccommodate affected customers onto subsequent flights where available.Â
"Alternatively, affected customers may also request for a full refund if they choose not to continue with their travel," Scoot said. It added that it would continue to monitor the situation and adjust its flight schedules as necessary.
Nine cities and counties announced the suspension of work and school for Wednesday, including the southern metropolises of Kaohsiung and Tainan.
More than 134,500 households have suffered power outages.
High-speed rail services on the west coast have been reduced, while train services in the southeast have been cancelled.
Many ferry services have also been suspended, and businesses and schools across the south are closed.
More than 31,500 soldiers were ready to assist in rescue and relief efforts, disaster officials said.
The CWA expects mountain areas in Kaohsiung and Tainan could be hit with a cumulative 400 to 600mm of rain from Tuesday to Thursday.
More than a year's rainfall fell in a single week this month in some southern areas, unleashing widespread landslides and flooding, with four deaths.
Typhoon Danas, which hit Taiwan in early July, killed two people and injured hundreds as the storm dumped more than 500mm of rain across the south over a weekend.
That was followed by torrential rain from Jul 28 to Aug 4, with some areas recording more than Taiwan's rainfall of 2.1m for 2024.
The week of bad weather left five people dead, three missing, and 78 injured, a disaster official said previously.
Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October.
Scientists have shown that human-driven climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely.
Global warming, driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels, is not just about rising temperatures, but the knock-on effect of all the extra heat in the atmosphere and seas.
Warmer air can hold more water vapour, and warmer oceans mean greater evaporation, resulting in more intense downpours and storms.
