According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Typhoon Chanthu has intensified rapidly in the past 36 hours, from a tropical depression to a severe typhoon, with maximum wind speeds of up to 233 kilometers per hour (145 miles per hour) . Chanthu is likely to expand into a super typhoon in the next few hours.
Given the trajectory of the storm, it is still unclear whether Chanthu will pass over Taiwan before falling to southern China or lose the island nearly. Either way, at the current rate, it is estimated that the storm will fall on Saturday or Sunday.
Typhoon Chanthu is just one of two dangerous weather systems crossing the western Pacific. Tropical Storm Conson made landfall in the Philippines over Monday night and will pass over the country before heading north to the Chinese island of Hainan.
Conson sees wind speeds of up to 112 km / h (70 mph). According to CNN Philippines, while warning signs were passing through the storm, no major damage has been reported so far.
Chanthu is likely to be the strongest storm to hit Taiwan or mainland China since Typhoon In-fa in July, which worsened already severe flooding in southeast China.
In total, economic losses from typhoon and floods reached more than $ 14 billion, according to Chinese state media.