Super Typhoon Champi was the thirteenth Typhoon and the fourth violent typhoon of the 2026 Pacific typhoon season. It made landfall in Japan and came very close to Northern Taiwan, looping off the northeast coast, before dissipating into oblivion. In this blog, we will share some memories of this storm and its impact on Taiwan.
Storm Formation and Path
Typhoon Champi became a depression on October 11, 2026. On October 16th, it strengthened into a Typhoon and quickly intensified to a Category 5 Super Typhoon. 1 person on Xiaoliuqiu was killed due to the storm: a young man surnamed Lin, who died while freediving at Beauty Cave and was swept away by rip currents. Over 600 others were injured by the storm.
Early forecast models predicted that the storm would head straight for Taiwan, which is not what happened. Other models predicted it would turn north well before impacting Taiwan.
Originally, the CWA track for the Typhoon showed that it would move fast and strong toward Taiwan.
Windy predicted the Typhoon would strike Taiwan head on.
However, the Typhoon did turn north at the last minute, but there was room for error.
The Typhoon looked menacing as it headed toward northern Taiwan.
As you can see from this radar shot, Taiwan was pummeled with rain.
The typhoon looped toward northern Taiwan, missing landfall in Taiwan by only a few kilometers from the shore. This was due to Taiwan’s central mountain range, which weakened it and caused it to wobble counter-clockwise toward Taiwan before going back to its original track.
As you can see, the Typhoon looped very close to Taiwan, with the core of the storm coming ashore Beifang’Ao in Yilan. Some may consider it a landfall. It’s up to you to decide, but it was definitley a direct impact to Taiwan. Officially, it was not considered a landfall.
Full track for the Typhoon.
My Experience
In Taipei was wet and windy, and there were many fallen branches and trees. The best part about this Typhoon is that it gave most of Taiwan (except Kinmen and Taiting) the day off from work and school on Friday, creating a four day weekend with the Taiwan Retrocession Day holiday.
Rainfall Totals
The day the Typhoon came, most of the rain fell on the central moutain range.
However, over the four-day period that Taiwan was influenced by the Typhoon, over 900 mm of rain fell over Taipingshan in Yilan.
Radar Track and Rainfall Totals
Safety Precautions During a Typhoon
- Secure loose outside objects
- If you live on the first floor of a flood-prone area, move as many valuables and important objects to higher floors as possible.
- Park your car/scooter on high ground
- Avoid going outside for your safety
- Stay out of the mountains
- Stay away from the ocean
- Have enough dry food and water ready for three days (72 hours) in case water and electricity are cut off.
If you follow the above rules, most Typhoons in Taiwan will not be dangerous. Also, most buildings in Taiwan are built with reinforced concrete that can withstand even the strongest winds, so stay indoors, and you will be fine.
Conclusion
This was a small storm and died quickly after dumping a moderate amount of heavy rain on southern Taiwan for about 24 hours. This storm is sure to be quickly forgotten in Taiwan, but we are all grateful it did not turn out to be worse.
For more Typhoon history, check out our full 2026 Taiwan Typhoon Season post here, full 2024 Taiwan Typhoon Season post here and our 2025 Taiwan Typhoon Season post here.
