Typhoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday, October 24, 2026, killing one person and injuring 527 others, as the once-super typhoon glanced off the island's northeast coast, downed trees, cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes, and sent giant waves crashing into harbours and coastal roads.
A rare loop off Yilan
According to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration, Champi was about 170 kilometres northeast of Taiwan after glancing off the northeastern coast in Yilan County early on Saturday. The storm's centre turned south around midnight, hugging the Yilan coastline before making a rare loop offshore and moving away to the north. Wind gusts touched 227 kilometres per hour (141 mph) in some coastal areas, knocking down power lines and sending roof tiles flying. At its peak, Champi was a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, though it was weakening as it headed north toward the Chinese coast and eventually southern Japan, with gusts near its centre of around 126 kph (78 mph).
"It was most terrifying around midnight," a retired teacher surnamed Lin told Reuters as he inspected downed banana trees in his garden in Yilan. "It was a sleepless night. I haven't seen anything like this in many years."
One dead, 527 injured, flights cancelled
Taiwan's fire department said the death toll remained at one: a man swept away by waves from the island of Liuqiu. A total of 527 people were injured during the heavy wind and torrential rain. Taipower said more than 288,000 homes lost electricity at one point, though most had been reconnected. The transport ministry said 259 flights were cancelled on Saturday, an improvement on Friday, when the number was almost 1,000. A swathe of northern and central Taiwan, including Taipei, declared a second day of office and school closures on Saturday, and Taipei saw downed trees and squally rain showers.
The storm's surf was dramatic even before it passed: footage from Fugang Fishing Port in Taitung County showed waves of around 6 metres (20 feet) toppling a 50-metre, 250-ton crane into the harbour on Friday, October 23, according to Focus Taiwan, while local broadcaster Formosa News reported waves reaching 10 metres along the wider Taitung coast.
Why Taiwan kept casualties low
Taiwan is generally very well prepared for typhoons, which keeps casualties low, Reuters noted, even though storms can strike in autumn as well as summer. Early warnings, school and office closures, and a rapid power-restoration effort all helped limit the damage from a storm that, at its strongest, ranked among the year's most powerful.
As Champi weakens and tracks north, the focus now shifts to southern Japan and to the clean-up in Yilan and Taipei, where residents spent Saturday clearing fallen trees and debris. The key takeaway: a super typhoon that could have been far worse was blunted by preparation, but its 227 kph gusts and monster surf were a reminder of how quickly a Pacific storm can turn deadly.
Watch: Formosa News footage of Champi's giant waves toppling a crane into Taitung harbour
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Long Road Ahead B (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0