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Thursday, October 22, 2026

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Safety · Thursday, October 22, 2026

Taiwan raises a land warning as Typhoon Champi closes in

The File desk · Oct. 22, 2026, 7:45 a.m. ET

Confirmed5 primary sourcesAdded 7:45 a.m. ET, Oct. 22

Status

Confirmed — Taiwan's Central Weather Administration and the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Flight cancellations and the president's remarks: Partially confirmed (Reuters, quoting Taiwan's transport ministry and Japanese airlines). Official risk: Taiwan has a sea-and-land typhoon warning for the whole island; landfall is not in the official forecast, but the storm's winds reach most of Taiwan.
  • Confirmed
    Taiwan's Central Weather Administration and the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Official risk: Taiwan has a sea-and-land typhoon warning for the whole island; landfall is not in the official forecast, but the storm's winds reach most of Taiwan.
  • Partially confirmed
    Flight cancellations and the president's remarks (Reuters, quoting Taiwan's transport ministry and Japanese airlines).
Taiwan's weather agency told people on Thursday to stay away from the sea, warning of waves over 20 feet along the east coast, the island's northern tip and the Hengchun Peninsula in the far south. 12 It issued a sea-and-land typhoon warning for Typhoon Champi, telling every part of Taiwan to be on high alert for strong winds and heavy rain. 14
Champi has weakened since Wednesday, but it is still a powerful storm. At 2 a.m. ET Thursday, the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center put its top winds near 120 mph, down from about 175 mph a day earlier, and expects more weakening. 3 At 5 a.m. ET it was about 275 miles east of Taiwan's southern tip, moving northwest at about 11 mph. 1
The official forecast keeps the storm's center at sea. It is expected to pass off Taiwan's northeast coast, east of Yilan, on Friday, then turn north toward Japan's southern islands. 14 But Champi is wide: its gale-force winds reach about 200 miles from the center, enough to cover most of Taiwan. 1 Forecasters say Friday and Saturday morning will be the worst, with heavy rain in the northern and northeastern mountains. 24
Travel is already disrupted. Taiwan canceled 125 flights on Thursday, mostly domestic, and Japanese airlines have canceled more than 100 flights through Sunday, Reuters reported. 5 The storm is also forecast to pass over Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost inhabited island. 5
Why it matters (Estimate). Taipei and the rest of northern Taiwan sit inside Champi's reach even if its eye never comes ashore. Very heavy rain on steep mountains is how typhoons usually do the most harm in Taiwan, through floods and landslides. (Estimate — our reading.) The storm is also snarling air travel across the region and forcing day-by-day changes to Keen Sword, a large U.S.-Japan military exercise, Reuters reported. 5 Taiwan is generally well prepared for typhoons, and the interior ministry said no evacuations had been reported as of Thursday. 5
Forecasters also warned of foehn winds, hot, dry gusts that spill down the mountains, in southeastern Taiwan on Friday and Saturday. 2
How we know

Notes

  1. 1.Central Weather Administration (Taiwan), Typhoon Champi Sea and Land Typhoon Warning, Report No. 7 — https://www.cwa.gov.tw/V8/E/index.html
  2. 2.Central Weather Administration, weather report issued Oct. 22, 2026, 5 p.m. Taiwan time (Chinese) — https://www.cwa.gov.tw/Data/fcst_pdf/W01.pdf
  3. 3.U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Typhoon 29W (Champi) Warning No. 32 — https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp2926web.txt
  4. 4.BusinessNext, Champi typhoon tracker (Chinese), Oct. 22, 2026 — https://www.bnext.com.tw/article/92668/champi-typhoon-path-taiwan
  5. 5.Reuters via GMA News, "Typhoon Champi nears Taiwan, causing flight cancellations and disrupting US-Japan drills," Oct. 22, 2026 — https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/world/1006789/taiwan-issues-land-warning-ahead-of-arrival-of-powerful-typhoon-champi/story/
  6. 6.The warning was first a sea warning, issued at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday Taiwan time, and was raised to a sea-and-land warning at 11:30 a.m. Thursday Taiwan time (11:30 p.m. Wednesday ET), according to BusinessNext's summary of the agency's bulletins. [4] Partially confirmed (time from secondary summary; the warning itself is on the agency's site [1]).
  7. 7.The 120 mph and 175 mph figures are the Joint Typhoon Warning Center's one-minute winds; Taiwan's agency uses a 10-minute average and reports lower numbers (48 m/s near the center in its 5:30 a.m. ET bulletin). [1][3] (The 175 mph figure is the one in Wednesday's story.)
  8. 8.The 275-mile distance converts the agency's "about 440 km east of Eluanbi" (Taiwan's southern tip). [1]
  9. 9.Some private forecasters raised the chance of the center touching Taiwan, but the official track stays offshore; this desk relies on the official forecast. [4]
  10. 10.President Lai Ching-te urged people to prepare now and avoid mountains and coasts: "A little more preparation means less risk," Reuters quoted from his Facebook page. [5] Partially confirmed.

Primary sources

Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.

  1. Source 1

    Typhoon Champi Sea and Land Typhoon Warning, Report No. 7

    Central Weather Administration (Taiwan) · October 22, 2026

    Sea-and-land typhoon warning for the whole island. Waves over 20 feet along the east coast, the northern tip and the Hengchun Peninsula. About 440 km east of Eluanbi. Gale-force winds reach about 200 miles from the center. 48 m/s near the center in the 5:30 a.m. ET bulletin.

    https://www.cwa.gov.tw/V8/E/index.html

  2. Source 2

    Weather report issued Oct. 22, 2026, 5 p.m. Taiwan time (Chinese)

    Central Weather Administration · October 22, 2026

    Friday and Saturday morning will be the worst, with heavy rain in the northern and northeastern mountains. Foehn winds, hot, dry gusts that spill down the mountains, in southeastern Taiwan on Friday and Saturday.

    https://www.cwa.gov.tw/Data/fcst_pdf/W01.pdf

  3. Source 3

    Typhoon 29W (Champi) Warning No. 32

    U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center · October 22, 2026

    At 2 a.m. ET Thursday, top winds near 120 mph, down from about 175 mph a day earlier, with more weakening expected. The 120 mph and 175 mph figures are one-minute winds.

    https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp2926web.txt

  4. Source 4

    Champi typhoon tracker (Chinese)

    BusinessNext · October 22, 2026

    The warning was first a sea warning at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday Taiwan time and was raised to a sea-and-land warning at 11:30 a.m. Thursday Taiwan time (11:30 p.m. Wednesday ET). The official track stays offshore.

    https://www.bnext.com.tw/article/92668/champi-typhoon-path-taiwan

  5. Source 5

    Typhoon Champi nears Taiwan, causing flight cancellations and disrupting US-Japan drills

    Reuters via GMA News · October 22, 2026

    Taiwan canceled 125 flights on Thursday, mostly domestic, and Japanese airlines have canceled more than 100 flights through Sunday. President Lai Ching-te: "A little more preparation means less risk." The interior ministry said no evacuations had been reported as of Thursday. Keen Sword is changing day by day.

    https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/world/1006789/taiwan-issues-land-warning-ahead-of-arrival-of-powerful-typhoon-champi/story/

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