> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.taiwanquest.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Typhoon Gaemi - URL: https://www.taiwanquest.com/typhoon-gaemi/ - Published: 2024-07-25T18:59:31.000Z - Updated: 2025-07-15T10:09:21.000Z - Description: Possibly Kaohsiung’s worst typhoon since 2009… - Author: Zhen-Kang Typhoon Gaemi made landfall in northern Taiwan yesterday, but perhaps counter-intuitively, the south was hardest hit. Taipei is surrounded by mountains, but Kaohsiung has no protection from south-westerly winds: ![Map showing Typhoon Gaemi just off the coast of Mainland China, with heavy winds hitting Kaohsiung, Taiwan, from the south.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/hurricane-gaemi-weather-map.jpg) Typhoon Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, as it moved from Taiwan to China. Graphic: [windy.com](https://windy.com/). Local friends told me this is the worst typhoon to hit Kaohsiung since [Typhoon Morakot killed 471 people in a landslide in 2009](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siaolin%5FVillage#Typhoon%5FMorakot). Today, Friday July 26, is the third day in a row that Kaohsiung’s mayor has declared a typhoon day—meaning all schools and non-essential businesses are closed. I’ve been fine in my apartment. Over the three days leading up to Gaemi’s arrival, I removed items from the balcony and stocked up on dry foods. (I also had supplies from [my emergency preparedness drive last year](https://www.taiwanquest.com/emergency-preparedness-in-taiwan/).) But after two days indoors, by last night I was itching to head out. So, when the wind briefly eased, I took a walk to my third-nearest convenience store. There are five within five minutes’ walk of my apartment, but only one can be reached without getting wet… I noticed more damage in my neighborhood than expected. This is all small-time compared to terrifying scenes elsewhere in Kaohsiung, but I was still surprised… ![An uprooted, fallen tree, on a grassy median strip in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/fallen-tree-in-kaohsiung-after-typhoon-gaemi.jpg) Outside my door. ![Two fallen trees in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, after Typhoon Gaemi.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/two-fallen-trees-in-kaohsiung-after-typhoon-gaemi.jpg) 20 meters down the road. ![A fallen tree on a grassy median strip in Kaohsiung Taiwan.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/fallen-tree-post-typhoon-gaemi.jpg) Further along the same block. ![A topped motorbike on its side.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/scooter-knocked-over-by-typhoon-gaemi.jpg) Yup. ![Eight sandbags blocking the entrance to a vehicle elevator for an underground parking lot.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/sandbags-at-kaohsiung-building-entrance.jpg) I’m not sure if the water reached this parking elevator… ![Two building entrances, both blocked with vertical wooden boards, intended to stop water ingress during Typhoon Gaemi.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/doorway-boards-to-stop-floodwaters-on-kaohsiung.jpg) …But every building on this block had sandbags or wooden boards in place to stop the water. ![A fallen and partially-smashed wall panel, approximately one meter by one meter, on wet concrete, next to a road in Kaohsiung.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/fallen-plasterboard-after-typhoon-gaemi-in-kaohsiung.jpg) I don’t know where this wall panel came from. It was at the entrance to an outdoor carpark. ![Two fallen panels on the sidewalk in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The sidewalk is otherwise occupied by a dozen parked scooters.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/plasterboard-on-sidewalk-after-typhoon.jpg) I found more panels next door… ![A pile of a few building tiles and some wooden boards next to a road cone.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/broken-building-tiles-and-road-cone-after-typhoon-gaemi.jpg) …And some building tiles. ![A WeMo electric scooter on a lean, against a conventional petrol-powered motorcycle, after Typhoon Gaemi.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/wemo-scooter-blown-over-by-typhoon.jpg) An electric rental scooter. ![A bicycle on its side on the sidewalk. The seat is wrapped in plastic to protect it from the rain.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/bicycle-abandoned-after-typhoon-gaemi-in-kaohsiung-taiwan.jpg) A bicycle. ![An illuminated temple gate with a dozen or more cars parked on the forecourt. The colors are reflected on the wet tarmac.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/cars-parked-out-side-kaohsiung-temple-at-night.jpg) My local temple. The forecourt was covered in cars. I asked a friend if they’d been parked there for divine protection, and he said no, it’s more likely the owners were worried about flooding in basement carparks. ([With good reason.](https://www.threads.net/@teacherhuhu/post/C91ahaLMlTV?xmt=AQGzA5pX5DFt5HbpmYS8Vro-MwW8vAuXkDcZX1dXLUpqLA)) ![A thoroughly-destroyed umbrella abandoned on the sidewalk outside a convenience store in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, post-Typhoon Gaemi.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5e/e3/5ee3f160-68a0-49ef-af6f-ec70abc1d13e/content/images/2024/07/broken-umbrella-outside-taiwanese-7-eleven.jpg) I made it to 7-Eleven. An umbrella was there to greet me. ---