Storm Chaser: Typhoon Bilis Will Do Massive Damage to Taiwan
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Typhoon Bilis is bearing down on the island of Taiwan. The massive storm, classified as a super typhoon; that's the equivalent of a top-level category five hurricane. So far one death already blamed on that storm; a worker outside the capital city, Taipei, was killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rain. Officials are warning of more landslides and flooding as the storm makes landfall. Storm chaser Jeff Mackley is in the path of that storm. He's on the eastern side of Taiwan and joins us now by telephone. Jeff, from your perspective there, what are you gathering right now about this storm?</s>JEFF MACKLEY, STORM CHASER: Yes, conditions here are deteriorating dramatically now. The eye of the storm is obviously moving closer to the shore. The town that I'm in is lined up for a direct hit. The winds are up to hurricane strength here now, but they will, of course, increase to more than 160 miles an hour, sustained winds, in the next four hours. So that is really just what we're waiting for now. The power has gone off here. So the town is in complete darkness. So there's really -- there's not a thing we can do about it now.</s>HEMMER: Jeff, typhoons are not new to that part of the world, are people getting ready? have they taken precautions?</s>MACKLEY: Well, no, I arrived in the town this morning and it really just seemed to be business as usual. As you know, when a hurricane is approaching the U.S., there's massive preparations for days and days. But here there really appears to be nothing. And a lot of people here didn't really seem to know just how serious this indeed was.</s>HEMMER: Jeff, as a storm chaser yourself, how big of a punch could this pack?</s>MACKLEY: Well, just last year I was in a category five cyclone in western Australia, and that was pretty intense. But the winds in this storm are even stronger. So we'd be looking at very, very serious damage, here, when the storm hits this town.</s>HEMMER: How far are you outside the capital city of Taipei? and in addition to that, when you consider a hurricane, in that upper right-hand quadrant seems to pack the most powerful winds, knowing that that location, right now, seems to be moving over the center part of the island, is it possible that this could wreak massive damage, there, throughout Taiwan?</s>MACKLEY: Yes, that would certainly be case. In the area surrounding the eye wall of the storm here, you will have very, very destructive winds. This whole town will suffer massive damage, really , by daylight. Really, this typhoon is so big that it will cover the whole of Taiwan and we're expecting torrential rain downpours, so that will also hamper things.</s>HEMMER: All right, Jeff Mackley, a storm chaser there on the island of Taiwan.