Typhoon Bilis (2000)

In preparation for Bilis, offices were closed across the island. In addition to the closure of businesses, flights to and from the island were rescheduled, and a typhoon relief center was established.[5] Due to the threat of landslides, a landslide warning was issued for Taiwan.[6] Though the storm had not yet made landfall, one person was killed in Taipei on August 22 after they were buried by a landslide triggered by the impending typhoon; this accounted for the first fatality caused by Bilis.[5] Along with flight rescheduling, numerous airports were closed, and the Taiwan Stock Exchange was set to close on August 23. Meanwhile, hospitals extended service times in anticipation for patient admittance. Taiwanese coast guard members regulated fishing activity due to the threat of deadly wave action.[7] The Port of Kaohsiung was closed throughout the duration of the storm.[8] Due to the heightened demand for vegetables in the lead-up to the storm, the cost of such foods increased by 20 to 30 percent.[9]

Bilis was a highly destructive tropical cyclone for Taiwan. Damage to the island's agricultural, fishing, and forestry industries amounted to US$133.5 million. The typhoon caused 14 fatalities and injured an additional 80 people. Power outages adversely impacted approximately 600,000 households, and 400 homes across Taiwan were destroyed.[4] Several hundred thousand families experienced water shortage following the storm.[10] In Cheng-Kung, a weather station recorded a 281 km/h (175 mph) wind gust, which broke the station's anemometer.[1] A single landslide in the town of Jenai buried nine farmers. Tens of thousands of people were displaced during the storm, and moved into evacuation shelters set up by the government.[8] Eight people shooting a film on the outskirts of Kaohsiung became stranded and thus improvised a shelter to ride out the storm.[11] In eastern Hualien County, 250 houses succumbed to strong winds.[1] The winds also felled trees and blew light vehicles around, blocking roads.[12] Heavy rainfall associated with Bilis flooded roughly 40,000 ha (100,000 ac) of orchards and rice paddies. Following Bilis' passage of Taiwan, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the island, exacerbating the already worsened conditions.[1]

Typhoon Bilis upon making landfall in East China late on August 22

Preparations for Typhoon Bilis on the Chinese mainland began on August 22, when the Xiamen Meteorological Observatory issued a warning for Fujian Province.[13] The typhoon was anticipated to be the worst storm to affect Xiamen so far in 2000.[14] As was the case in Taiwan, all three airports in the province were closed, and ferry service was suspended in preparation for the storm.[15] Likewise, Xiamen Airlines cancelled all scheduled flights.[14]

Despite becoming a weaker storm upon its landfall in China as opposed to its landfall on Taiwan,[1] Bilis caused more fatalities and accrued a greater damage cost in China. Economic losses in China totaled US$534 million, with most of the losses occurring in Fujian Province. A total of 57 people were killed, though an additional 1,077 people were either wounded or went missing.[4] Due to felled trees, a railway line from Fuzhou to Mawei blocked rail service.[15] Bilis spawned several tornadoes in the area of Yueqing, ravaging four villages and destroying 20 buildings.[4]

As a developing disturbance, the precursor to Bilis dropped heavy rain on Guam on August 18. Peaking at 52 mm (2.0 in), the rain was the result of the storm's surface wind flow.[16] After becoming a tropical cyclone, Bilis' outer rainbands dropped heavy rainfall on Okinawa Prefecture in the Ryukyu Islands. Total rainfall amounts peaked at 136 mm (5.4 in) in Iriomote-jima. Two other stations recorded rainfall totals in excess of 100 mm (3.9 in). The typhoon also produced some gusty winds across the islands, with sustained winds peaking at 65 km/h (40 mph) on Yonaguni.[17] While a weakening remnant system, Bilis caused torrential precipitation across South Korea. At Kunsan Air Base, 468 mm (18.4 in) of rain was recorded over a 48-hour period; this two-day total was over three times the August average for the location.[1]