Devastation unfolds as Nepartak makes landfall in Taiwan

Friday, July 8, 2016, 9:31 AM - Super typhoon Nepartak made landfall in Taiwan early Friday, about 15 km south of the eastern city of Taitung. The storm came ashore as a Category 4 equivalent tropical cyclone shortly after 6:30 a.m. Taiwan local time, Friday morning.

Officials say at least two people are dead with over 60 injured as the typhoon with winds up to 240 km/h tore roofs off buildings, flipped cars, cut power to thousands and dumped heavy rain across the island.

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Some places have already picked up more than 300 mm of rain over just 12 hours, with worsening conditions expected across central and southern Taiwan and southeastern China Friday.

Taiwanese authorities reported that over 15,000 people were evacuated from the hardest hit places and most flights have been cancelled at Taiwan's International Airport. According to Taiwan News, 35,800 troops were deployed countrywide to help with relief efforts.

Taiwan's rugged and mountainous terrain helped slow Nepartak, and the storm has been downgraded from a super typhoon to a typhoon.

The storm barreled close to land early Friday morning as social media lit up with dramatic, on-the ground reports. Meteorologists and storm chasers have also been sharing their awe over the shape and size of the super typhoon, describing it as a "near-perfect" storm.

Nepartak leaped from tropical storm to Category 5 equivalent of a tropical cyclone on July 5, ending a 200-day typhoon drought in the western north Pacific basin.

It is the first named storm since December 2015, breaking a record for the longest period of time without a single tropical storm in the basin in more than 66 years of record-keeping.

As southeastern China reels from heavy rainfall and heavy flooding through the weekend, Nepartak is expected to worsen conditions. Flooding claimed the lives of at least 128 through 11 Chinese provinces since June 30, the country's Ministry of Civil Affairs reports. China is experiencing its worst flooding since 1998.

The China Meteorological Administration issued a second orange typhoon alert Friday, the second highest alert in the system, and recommended all outdoor gatherings be suspended and schools closed. Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Anhui and Shanghai are all expected to be affected by the storm.

According to CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward, the majority of rain would fall over southeast China, some distance from the intensely flooded areas to the west of Shanghai.

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