Typhoon Champi forced Taiwan to close its $5 tn stock market, schools and government offices on Friday as heavy rainfall and damaging winds disrupted transport across the island, according to Bloomberg.
The storm left one person dead and 171 injured, according to government reports. More than 950 domestic and international flights were canceled, while some railway services were suspended.
- Taiwan closed its $5 tn stock market, schools and government offices as Typhoon Champi approached with sustained winds of 155 km/h.
- The storm killed one person, injured 171 and forced the cancellation of more than 950 domestic and international flights.
- Champi became the 10th super typhoon of the northwest Pacific season, twice the long-term average and close to the 2015 record of 13.
Champi carried maximum sustained winds of 155 km/h (96 mph), equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane, according to Taiwan’s weather agency. The cyclone had weakened from super typhoon strength during the previous 24 hours.
At 2:30 p.m. Friday local time, the storm was approximately 260 km southeast of Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport.
Most cities and counties suspended school classes and office operations as authorities prepared for heavy rainfall and strong winds.
Taiwan stock market closes as Typhoon Champi disrupts trading
Taiwan’s stock exchange, the world’s fifth-largest by market value, suspended trading on Friday as the typhoon approached.
The exchange was also scheduled to remain closed on Monday for a public holiday, extending the interruption to trading.
The shutdown followed recent declines across technology-heavy equity markets in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, where investors have been assessing earnings from major global technology companies.
With a market capitalization of approximately $5 tn, Taiwan’s exchange is among the largest financial markets exposed to typhoon-related trading disruptions in the region.
Typhoon Champi weakens but heavy rain and damaging winds remain a threat
The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast that cooler ocean temperatures and increasing wind shear would continue weakening Champi.
Despite losing intensity, the cyclone remained unusually large, with an extensive wind field capable of producing hazardous conditions across a broad area.
Forecast models indicated that Champi would pass just east of Taipei early Saturday before turning northeast along mainland China’s eastern coast and moving toward Japan’s Kyushu region.
The storm’s size meant heavy rainfall and strong winds remained significant concerns even as its maximum sustained wind speeds declined.
Northwest Pacific records 10 super typhoons in 2026
Champi reached super typhoon intensity earlier in the week, becoming the 10th storm to achieve that classification in the northwest Pacific during the 2026 season.
According to the Hong Kong Observatory, the total is twice the long-term seasonal average and approaching the record of 13 super typhoons recorded during the 2015 El Niño.
El Niño conditions can influence tropical cyclone formation in the Pacific, encouraging storms to develop farther east over open water. That gives developing cyclones more time to intensify over warm ocean waters before approaching populated land areas.
Champi’s earlier peak intensity reached approximately 185 mph before the cyclone weakened on its approach to Taiwan.
Although its strongest winds had subsided, the storm continued to threaten Taiwan and nearby coastal regions with widespread rainfall, damaging winds and transport disruption as it moved toward Japan.
