Typhoon Nepartak Wreaks Havoc in Taitung

Taitung (Taidong) County, Taiwan, was the touchdown point for Typhoon Nepartak in the early hours of this morning, July 8, 2016.

Taiwan awoke to scenes of destruction as the strongest typhoon to hit the island since 1955 made landfall slightly to the south of Taitung City. Cars and trucks were flipped over, and streets were blocked by collapsed awnings, signs and debris.

Roofs were torn off buildings and windows imploded, leaving homes, convenience stores, and other businesses exposed to the wind and rain.

On Green Island and Orchid Island, residents reported they had a sleepless night as category 5 cyclonic winds tore roofs off houses. Three fishing boats on Green Island were ripped from their moorings, causing one to sink and badly damaging two others.

At Taiwan Rail’s Taitung Station, train wagons were tossed off the tracks.

Farmers are evaluating the damage done to crops as banana plantations and other crops were flattened by the cyclonic winds.

Two are fatalities and 82 injuries have been recorded so far.

The video footage below was recorded by residents of the city as it happened.

Damaged buildings in Taidong City, Taiwan
Buildings damage by destructive winds generated by a category 5 ‘super-typhoon’. Tropical Cyclone Nepartak struck Taitung County on Taiwan’s south-east coast before dawn July 8, 2016.
Debris litters a street after a typhoon in Taitung City
Fallen signs and other debris block a usually busy street in the central business district of Taitung City, Taiwan.
Train cars are seen swept off the tracks by cyclonic winds in Taitung City
Train cars were tossed off the tracks at Taitung Station when typhoon Nepartak struck the city of Taitung in the early hours of July 8, 2016
Banana trees flattened by cyclonic winds in Taitung County, Taiwan
Farmers are counting the costs of damage brought to crops by a category 5 typhoon that struck southern Taiwan July 8, 2016
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