Typhoon Morakot

The first typhoon to strike Taiwan this season is just leaving. As far as typhoons go, it was predicted to be a moderate one. But as with all weather predictions, the weathermen once again learned they are not gods. The predicted path of the typhoon was to see it come across the island and take a more northerly turn. However, the worst part of the typhoon seemed to hit the southern half of the island. There has been a lot of flood damage. As I write this, the death toll stands at 12, with 56 people unaccounted for, so the death will undoubtedly rise.

One of the more dramatic videos from the storm shows a hotel in the city of Taitung on the east coast toppling over due to the erosion of its foundation by an adjacent stream, gorged with rainwater.

In my limited experience of living in Taiwan, I have come to learn that it is almost impossible to predict the "size", and effect of a typhoon. In the past, typhoons that were in the "super typhoon" category ended up doing little damage with no loss of life. Whereas there have been smaller typhoons (in terms of size and maximum wind speed) that have wreaked all kinds of havoc on the island.

The positive side to the typhoons that come this time of year is that the rainfall provides much needed rain for the reservoirs, which then supply water for the island during the rest of the season. It has also been recently reported that the low pressure system associated with the typhoons somehow trigger small earthquakes, which helps release pressure on the fault lines, thereby reducing the chances of larger more devastating earthquakes occurring with greater frequency. Check out the following for more info:

Typhoons trigger earthquakes on Taiwan: scientists