AIR: Taiwan Typhoon Losses Unlikely to Top $100M

Catastrophe risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide estimates insured losses in Taiwan from Typhoon Fung-Wong are unlikely to exceed USD100 Million.

Dr. Peter Sousounis, senior research scientist at AIR Worldwide stated, “Fung-Wong first made landfall Sunday at about 8:00 pm EDT in Hualien County in central Taiwan. It was the second typhoon in less than two weeks to hit the island and then cross over to the mainland. It struck with sustained winds of 100 mph and dropped as much as 28 inches of rain, cutting off power to more than 150,000 households across the island.”

Rescue personnel struggled through waist-deep waters to evacuate people in Hualien County, where Fung-Wong came ashore. Nantou County also experienced flooding, and authorities there advised 1,000 people to evacuate. Hundreds of people are reported to have fled to shelters in the counties of Kaohsiung, Hsinchu, Taipei, and Taoyuan, as well as in Nantou and Hualien. Residents of the northern outskirts of Taipei, the capital, also were seriously impacted by Fung-Wong.

Authorities listed 425 rivers as being in danger of having flash floods. Typhoon Fung-Wong made its second landfall in China's Fujian Province late Monday local time as a weak Category 1 typhoon, according to the provincial meteorological observatory. Its maximum sustained winds were recorded at 74 mph, the lowest wind speed to qualify for typhoon status. Fung-Wong, which means “Phoenix” in Chinese, is the eighth tropical cyclone to form in the Northwest Pacific Basin this year.

“The eye of Fung-Wong passed over Donghan, a small town near Fuqing in Fujian Province, at about 10:00 pm local time (10:00am EDT),” continued Dr. Sousounis. “Chinese officials say the typhoon could be the strongest storm to hit the country so far this year, even though it weakened as it passed over Taiwan. It is expected to move inland across eastern China and bring heavy rain and winds after pummeling Taiwan on Sunday.”

Disaster relief workers fear that Fung-Wong will bring flash floods and landslides to the two provinces, which were drenched by heavy rain from Typhoon Kalmaegi just two weeks ago. People in the provinces of Guangdong and Jiangxi also have been warned to prepare for strong winds and heavy rain.