Typhoon Gaemi claims lives in Taiwan amidst deluge and robust gusts.

Typhoon Gaemi has reached Taiwan's eastern coastline, causing heavy downpours and strong winds across the island that resulted in two fatalities.

The intense storm arrived at around midnight local time Thursday (1600 GMT Wednesday), as reported by the Central Weather Administration.

Prior to its arrival, Taiwan experienced rainfall and robust gusts, leading to one death of a motorist in southern Kaohsiung city due to a fallen tree, along with a woman fatality in eastern Hualien area, according to authorities.

More than 200 people sustained injuries by Wednesday evening, while over 290,000 homes lost power because of outages caused by the storm, disaster officials noted.

"Wind and rain continue to intensify, presenting a danger to various regions of Taiwan, including its nearby islands Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu," stated in an announcement from authorities urging public vigilance.

This year's first typhoon landing on Taiwan is anticipated to be the most powerful one since 2013 based on a government forecast.

By Wednesday evening (8pm GMT), evacuation orders had been issued for over 8,000 people living in vulnerable areas across Taiwan, notably Hualien – an area prone to landslides due to its mountainous nature.

Transport services like trains and ferries were halted, with numerous international and domestic flights cancelled on Wednesday.

The storm's impact also forced the self-governed island to suspend some of its annual Han Kuang war games – except for an anti-landing drill that went ahead as planned in Penghu area on Wednesday morning, west of Taiwan’s main island.

“We expect the typhoon's aftermath will extend until Friday," said Cheng Jia-ping, chief of Taiwan's Central Weather Administration.

Due to adverse weather conditions, schools and offices remained closed in several cities including Taipei for a second day consecutively with authorities predicting challenging weather persisting across the island.

In Yilan county in northeastern Taiwan, massive waves crashed into coastal areas while powerful winds blew rain sideways, leading to sign disturbances.

A fisherman named Hsu secured his boat at a typhoon shelter amidst a harbour filled with docked vessels. "The typhoon is my livelihood," he expressed.

Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC confirmed it would maintain usual production levels and mentioned activating its standard storm preparation protocols across all fabrication facilities.

Typhoon Gaemi's passage also exacerbated rainfall in the Philippines, triggering floods and landslides that resulted in six deaths.

Following Taiwan, Gaemi is anticipated to affect China’s eastern Zhejiang and Fujian provinces later on, where red storm alerts have been issued by authorities there.

Japan's southern island region of Okinawa urged residents to "maintain strong vigilance" against potential storm-related threats such as high waves and floods.

Taiwan often experiences tropical storms from July to October, but the severity has increased due to climate change – a factor that contributes to more intense rainfall events, flash floods, and strong winds.