Taiwan is bracing for powerful Typhoon Champi, which is passing close to the island's east coast with torrential rains and gusts of up to 191 kph (119mph)
Taiwanese authorities have urged people to stay away from coasts and mountains, and are evacuating residents on the north-east coast living near a landslide dam at risk of breaching in the storm
Hundreds of flights in Taiwan and neighbouring Japan have been cancelled, affecting thousands of passengers
At least one person has died in Taiwan after being swept away by waves, according to authorities
Champi is the latest in a string of intense typhoons as a Super El Niño heats up the Pacific Ocean and fuels storms
We can now bring you more pictures from Keelung, a major port city in north-eastern Taiwan.
Residents have been warned by Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau to expect "torrential or extremely torrential rain" in the city.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, ReutersEarlier we reported that this has been an unusually hectic typhoon season for the region.
But it's not just typhoons. Recent months have seen a range of extreme weather events around the world.
Much of this is because of an exceptionally strong El Niño - a naturally occurring event that happens once every few years and lasts for around a year.
During this period, trade winds in the Pacific Ocean can weaken or reverse, allowing warm water to spread eastwards.
The heat from the ocean lifts global temperatures and changes rainfall patterns.
The UK Met Office said this is shaping up to be the "largest El Niño in living memory". This means 2027 is likely going to be the world's hottest year on record, the agency said.
Image source, Getty ImagesWeather forecasters may be unsure if Champi will make landfall in Taiwan, but the hazards from the storm, one of the strongest on the planet this year, remain.
Taiwan's weather agency forecasts that up to 90cm (35in) will fall from Thursday to Saturday, with the north-east coast expected to be the hardest-hit.
"People should be aware that the strong winds and extremely heavy rain will continue into the first half of tomorrow (Saturday)," Central Weather Administration administrator Lu Kuo-chen says.
A typhoon has technically made landfall when its centre or eye moves from the sea onto land, according to Taiwan's weather agency.
Across the Asia region, however, many typhoons have caused widespread damage even when the eye has not made landfall.
Storms that skirt coastlines are capable of stirring torrential rains and strong winds that cause floods and landslides.
We reported earlier that Taiwanese authorities were warning people to stay alert as the island braced for Typhoon Champi to make landfall.
But for now, it remains unclear if the storm will make landfall in Taiwan or just brush past the island's coast as it heads northwards to Japan.
Forecasts by the meteorological agencies in Taiwan and Japan show that the eye of the storm is expected to skirt past Taiwan's northeastern tip without making landfall.
But a forecaster from Taiwan's Central Weather Administration also told Reuters that they could not rule out landfall, if the storm "stalls, loops, or wobbles from side to side" as it approaches Taiwan.
As Champi moves closer to Taiwan, it is also stirring heavy rains and strong winds in Batanes, a Philippine island chain located between southern Taiwan and Luzon, the Philippines' main northern island.
The second-highest in a five-step wind warning system has been raised in the Batanes islands. This means 150km/h winds are expected.
Photos posted on the local government's Facebook page showed waves crashing into seaside villages and roads closed to traffic. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
While it is affected by many of the 20 or so tropical storms in the Philippines every year, communities in Batanes are reputed to be more resilient against inclement weather. Many homes are made of thick limestone, engineered to withstand typhoon winds.
Champi has hovered in waters north-east of the Philippines for days. It is known locally as Typhoon Rosal.
Image source, DPWH-BDEO Philippines/FacebookA few days ago, Typhoon Champi officially became the strongest storm of the year.
On Tuesday afternoon, it attained a maximum sustained wind speed of 185mph (298km/h) as it moved over the Philippine sea - the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane.
Typhoon Champi was initially categorised as a "super typhoon", which is when a cyclone's sustained wind speed reaches 240 km/h(150 mph).
The typhoon appeared to weaken on Wednesday as it continued travelling through the sea.
But it remains powerful, carrying sustained winds of 155km/h (96mph) near its centre around noon on Friday, according to Taiwan's weather authorities.
Kurumi Mori
Tokyo correspondent
More than 160 flights have been cancelled across four Japanese airlines.
Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) just said all flights departing from and arriving at Miyako Airport and Ishigaki Airport, in the southern Okinawa prefecture, are canceled for the entire day.
It also says operations being impacted at Okhotsk Monbetsu, Okinawa Naha Airport, Tsushima, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima Airports.
In an update moments ago, Japan Airlines said it had cancelled flights to Taipei Songshan Airport and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Kurumi Mori
Tokyo correspondent
Here in Japan, 3,630 households are experiencing power outages due to the impact of the typhoon, according to Okinawa Electric Power.
The company says the strong rain and wind are creating dangerous conditions for outdoor work, so they’re conducting restoration work via remote operation.
I’m in Tokyo, where it’s just cloudy, but forecasts call for four straight rainy days starting tomorrow.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has warned people to remain alert to the typhoon, telling them to "exercise extreme caution against storm-force winds, high waves, sediment disasters and storm surges through tomorrow".
"Vigilance is also needed against flooding in low-lying areas, as well as rising and overflowing rivers" in the Okinawa and Amami regions, she wrote in a post on X.
Many have replied to Takaichi's post, thanking her for keeping them updated on social media as fewer people are watching TV or reading newspapers.
China's meteorological authority has issued a "blue" alert for Typhoon Champi - the lowest level in its four-tier warning system.
The storm is expected to skirt past the country's eastern coast over the coming weekend.
The agency is warning of strong winds and rainfall of 50-80mm along its eastern coast, including Shanghai.
Zhejiang Province, which is set to be the country's worst-hit by the storm, has issued an "orange" alert - the second-highest level - warning of huge waves along its coast.
I-ting Chiang
BBC Chinese
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesWork and classes have been suspended in nearly all of Taiwan's 22 counties and cities on Friday as Typhoon Champi approaches the island.
Only Kinmen County, an archipelago located to the west of Taiwan's mainland, will continue work and classes as usual.
Taiwan's stock exchange - one of the largest in the world - is also closed today.
The island is starting to experience heavy rainfall, with some areas in Taipei City already accumulating more than 200mm of rainfall within 24 hours.
The Central Weather Administration predicts that Typhoon Champi's storm circle will continue battering Taiwan until Saturday evening.
Strong winds are expected in the island's northern region, with wind gusts reaching up to level 12, the highest on the Beaufort scale. Authorities are warning people to stay away from beaches and mountains.
Typhoon Champi is currently moving in a northwesterly direction towards Taiwan, where residents are bracing for powerful winds and rain forecast throughout Friday and Saturday.
By Saturday afternoon, the typhoon is expected to swerve away from China's eastern coast and head for Japan.
Authorities in Taiwan have cancelled all 262 domestic flights and more than 660 international ones scheduled for Friday, local media report.
Railway and ferry services have also been suspended, while some highways have been closed ahead of the powerful storm.
Now bringing you more details on the typhoon casualties reported in Taiwan.
According to a press briefing Taiwan's disaster authorities, one person died yesterday after being swept away by waves in Liuqiu, a small coral island southwest of Taiwan's main island.
The storm has also injured 94 people, according to the fire department. Many of those injuries were from traffic accidents and falls, authorities say.
One person has been killed and dozens of others have been injured in Taiwan as Typhoon Champi nears, authorities say.
More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, according to the government.
This is shaping up to be one of the most active typhoon seasons the region has seen in years.
Champi is Japan's 30th typhoon of the year, making this the first time since 2013 that the country has seen so many storms.
The typhoon is called Rosal in the Philippines, which follows an alphabetical naming order. That means eight more storms until the end of the alphabet. It's not unheard of - but definitely rare - for the Philippines to exhaust typhoon names from A to Z in a single year.
The recent frequency of storms is due to an unusually strong El Niño - a naturally occurring phenomenon that hits the Pacific Ocean every few years and can trigger extreme weather events, from droughts to typhoons.
Scientists are expecting more typhoons to develop this year.
Scores of flights have been cancelled across East Asia, affecting thousands of passengers, as authorities brace themselves for Champi's arrival.
In Taiwan, about 125 flights have been cancelled, mostly for domestic flights linking the main island to smaller islands.
Some railway and ferry services have also been suspended, while national parks and tourist attractions have announced closures ahead of the storm.
Meanwhile in Japan, major airlines such as Japan Airlines and ANA have cancelled more than 100 flights - also mostly domestic - between Thursday and Sunday. These cancellations are estimated to affect at least 11,000 passengers.
Typhoon Champi is barrelling towards Taiwan, and is expected to skirt China's eastern coast on its way to Japan over the weekend.
Many across the region are bracing for the storm's powerful winds and heavy rain to hit.
Image source, ReutersTaipei city saw a rainy Thursday as Typhoon Champi approached the island
Image source, Getty ImagesFleeing the impending storm, fishing boats dock at Ruoshan Fishing Port in China's Zhejiang Province
Image source, ReutersOn Japan's Ishigaki Island, sandbags have been lined on a beach as a barrier against strong waves
Taiwanese authorities issued urgent safety warnings on Thursday ahead of Typhoon Champi's landfall.
Following an emergency briefing, Premier Cho Jung-Tai urged the public to avoid all high-risk zones.
"After it makes landfall, it will envelop the entire Taiwan. It will slowly leave Taiwan on the 24th and the 25th," Central Weather Administration (CWA) head Lu Kuo-chen said at a news conference, adding that winds would be strongest from Friday through Saturday.
National Fire Agency Chief Secretary Cheng Chih Chiang had asked the local governing body of the eastern coast of Taiwan to evacuate residents living downstream from the Wanli Creek landslide dam in Hualien.
The dam was holding five million metric tons of water as of Thursday morning, according to Premier Cho, and there is the risk it could breach in the storm.
Cheng urged the public to stay away from mountainous areas, creeks and beaches even after Champi leaves Taiwan.
Typhoon Champi's outer rainbands are bearing down on Taiwan this morning, with torrential downpours and fierce wind gusts predicted to hit the island.
The storm's 320-kilometre radius will cover most of Taiwan today, according to the Central Weather Administration.
The peak impact will last through the night before Typhoon Champi pulls away towards southern Japan late Saturday.
Severe weather warnings are in place across Taiwan. Mountainous regions of northern and northeastern Taiwan face up to 900mm (35 inches) of rainfall, along with wind gusts reaching up to level 12, the highest on the Beaufort scale, according to Taiwanese reports.
Welcome to our coverage of Typhoon Champi, a powerful tropical cyclone that is due to hit Taiwan and Japan.
In recent days several places in the East Asia region have been bracing themselves for one of the strongest storms of the year.
The typhoon is expected to pass by Taiwan and the Okinawa islands of Japan today, before heading northwards towards eastern China and the South Korean island of Jeju over the weekend.
Stick with us as we bring you the latest.
