Typhoon Danas was the first named typhoon of the 2025 Pacific Typhoon Season. It made landfall in Taiwan and China before dissipating over southeast China. This typhoon had a rare track that impacted the west coast of Taiwan, and is the first recorded Typhoon to make landfall in Chiayi County. In this blog, we will share some memories of this storm and its impact on Taiwan.
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- Best time to visit: Spring and Autumn when it is not too hot or cold and less rainy
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- Stay connected with a local SIM
- Rent a car to explore distant sights
Storm Formation and Path
Typhoon Danas became a depression on July 3rd, 2025, and was upgraded to a tropical storm the same day. On July 6th, it strengthened into a Typhoon. It had max winds of 120 km/h, making it a category 2. The Gangkou River flooded, causing extensive damage in the area. This storm killed two people in Taiwan and injured over 700. Estimated agricultural damage was 113 million USD.
Early forecast models predicted that the storm would graze the west coast of Taiwan as a strong Typhoon. As you will see, that did not happen.
However, the Typhoon deviated east from the original track to the west part of Taiwan, where Typhoons go to die.
Typhoon Danas was originally forecast to graze the western coastline, but it ended up going deeper into western Taiwan, which significantly weakened it.
See above for the full path of the Typhoon.
My Experience
I was in Taipei during this storm. It was calm, dry, and windy in Taipei during the storm. Originally, I was vacationing in Xiaoliuqiu when the storm cancelled all ferry boats to and from the island, so I had to cancel my vacation one day early. On the drive up to Taipei, there were many severe thunderstorms, and it was sometimes hard to see the road in front of me. Once in Taipei, we hunkered down, but there was no severe weather.
Work and school were closed for Districts south of Taoyuan.
Rainfall Totals
Over 700 mm of rain fell in southern Taiwan due to the Typhoon, which is not a whole lot compared with other Typhoons.
Radar Track and Rainfall Totals
Videos from around Taiwan:
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 that picked up quickly before landfall. It was rare for being the first Typhoon to make landfall in Chiayi County. It rained a lot, especially near Kenting, but it was not catastrophic compared to other Typhoons. We are lucky this Typhoon moved along quickly.
For more Typhoon history, check out our full 2025 Taiwan Typhoon Season post here or our full 2024 Taiwan Typhoon Season post here.
