typhoonfury.com

typhoonfury.com

Image courtesy of NOAA - http://www.osei.noaa.gov

Part 1 - Insane eyewall rain and winds as super typhoon Sepat made landfall

Part 2 - Biblical floods rage in the aftermath of super typhoon Sepat. Over 1 metre of rain was dumped on the island

Super typhoon Sepat smashed into Taiwan with such unimaginable force and unleashed the most ferocious and violent floods which rendered me, for the first time in my life, speechless.

When typhoon Sepat was brewing I was in Beijing with a good friend from America and unable to keep an eye on its development. I returned to Shanghai and near fell off my chair when I saw Sepat had bombed from a measly tropical storm into a 140 knots category 5 raging super typhoon and was on a crash course with Taiwan.

JTWC warning 17 shows super typhoon Sepat at a whopping 140 knots with gusts to 170 knot approaching Taiwan. Image courtesy of JTWC

I had no time to lose and within two hours my tickets were booked through to Taipei the next day. I arrived in Taipei very late on the night of 15th August and met fellow storm chaser Geoff Mackley in Taoyuan. Geoff had flown up from Auckland and we were both very excited by the fact there was a super typhoon lurking not too far away in the Pacific.

Early on the 16th August we caught a train from Taipei to Hualien on the east coast. This was my second time in Hualien for a typhoon (Talim in 2005 was my first time) and Geoff’s third time, the city really is a typhoon magnet! We headed straight to the usual car rental agency who had no worries about giving us a car 12 hours prior to mayhem arriving on the doorstep.

Central Weather Bureau radar shows Sepat's ominous eye approaching Taiwan (image courtesy of www.cwb.gov.tw)

The car roared into the ambulance bay and just as we set up the camera all hell broke loose. The pressure was plummeting and causing my ears to hurt as the air was filled with spray and debris screaming past at over 100 mph.

We captured the amazing show on film with just enough light. Major typhoons making landfall at night are generally a nightmare to be in let alone try and film but we got lucky with Sepat. As the back end of the eyewall started passing through it got light enough to take photos.

As soon as the winds dropped to a safe level we got back in the car and hit the road to cover the immediate aftermath of the storm. Conditions were still atrocious and every river we passed was in full flood.

This enhanced photo shows the ferocious conditions which raged whilst we sheltered in the hospital

Emergency services battle floods in the immediate aftermath of typhoon Sepat

A river in full flood just south of Hualien, Taiwan

Geoff Mackley filming the incredible floods in the aftermath of super typhoon Sepat

Sepat had made landfall at around 5.00am local time and by midday I had gone without sleep for over 30 hours. The adrenalin had kept me going no problem during the height of the storm but now I was starting to flag. That was when Geoff suggested we check out Taroko Gorge, Taiwan’s most spectacular attraction and one of the most impressive natural features in the world.

All I wanted was a bed but I knew Taroko would be good. I have been there twice before. On a sunny day the place is stunning, in the aftermath of a typhoon the place is mind boggling as the Taroko River pounds its way to the ocean with such incredible force that the ground shakes. I could hardly keep awake and was now hallucinating with tiredness but the sight which greeted me at the entrance to the gorge set my pulse racing.

The Taroko river was raging with such force that the ground was shaking

We forced our way through rock falls and flash flood and proceeded up the road into the gorge mindful that we could be inundated by water or mud at any time. I never in my life anticipated seeing an awesome sight. Sepat’s eyewall was incredible but its floods were out of this world. The roar of the water was deafening and the ground was shaking as huge boulders were being smashed and hurled downstream. At some points the water was surging over the road. Geoff and I did not waste anytime and in an instant our cameras were rolling.

The conditions in the gorge were terrible for photography. The air was filled with muddy spray which coated not only the insides of our eyes but all of our camera equipment. Luckily all the equipment held up under the extreme conditions.

A tense moment as flood waters rage behind me

Documenting the action in Taroko Gorge

Drenched, covered in mud, exhausted and with fading light we decided to head back to the hotel to dry off and get some rest. Typhoon Sepat provided the most awesome display of nature’s power and is the most impressive typhoon I have covered to date.

The Taroko River level on a nice sunny day

This second picture shows the huge rise in water level of the Taroko River after a typhoon