Typhoon Champi Grounds Flights and Disrupts Military Drills Across East Asia
Typhoon Champi triggered more than 200 flight cancellations and forced immediate adjustments to major US-Japan military exercises as it barreled toward Taiwan and northern Luzon, Reuters reported. Packing maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour near its center with gusts reaching 190 kilometers per hour, the powerful storm prompted widespread transport suspensions and emergency preparations across East Asia on October 22 and 23, 2026.
The system, also tracked locally as Typhoon Rosal in the Philippines, prompted Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration to issue a land warning as the storm’s expanded radius threatened coastal communities with towering waves and torrential rain. Transport ministries and disaster management agencies across Taiwan, the Philippines, and Japan mobilized response protocols as the powerful storm maintained its northwestward trajectory.
Land Warnings and Flight Cancellations Sweep Through Taiwan
Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration reported that Champi carried gusts exceeding 227 kilometers per hour near its center while tracking roughly 520 kilometers southeast of the island’s southern tip. Taiwan’s transport ministry confirmed 125 flight cancellations on Thursday, predominantly affecting domestic routes, while rail networks remained operational. Coastal areas received mobile alerts warning of waves exceeding 6 meters, alongside forecasts predicting nearly a meter of rainfall in northern mountain areas near Taipei. President Lai Ching-te urged residents via social media to avoid coastal and mountainous regions, stating that preparation reduces risk. The interior ministry reported no residential evacuations had taken place as emergency personnel monitored the storm’s path toward northeastern Taiwan and the Chinese coast.
Military Exercises and Japanese Domestic Travel Face Disruption
The storm’s expanding radius forced organizers to alter the Keen Sword military exercise involving approximately 56,000 Japanese and US personnel, alongside forces from Australia, the Philippines, and other nations. The US military stated that training activities were adjusted on a day-to-day basis to protect participants involved in the amphibious landing and missile defense drills. Meanwhile, major Japanese carriers including Japan Airlines, ANA, and Skymark canceled more than 100 domestic flights between Thursday and Sunday, disrupting travel for over 11,000 passengers as the storm approached Japan’s westernmost inhabited island of Yonaguni in Okinawa Prefecture.
Severe Weather Signals Raise Alerts Across Northern Philippines
In the Philippines, the state weather bureau PAGASA maintained Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2 over Batanes and the northeastern portion of the Babuyan Islands, where gale-force winds between 62 and 88 kilometers per hour posed minor to moderate threats to life and property, Philstar.com reported. PAGASA placed Signal No. 1 over the rest of the Babuyan Islands, mainland Cagayan, the northeastern portion of Isabela, Ilocos Norte, and Apayao. Provincial authorities suspended face-to-face classes and government office work in affected regions, while maritime warnings cautioned that sea heights could reach up to 6 meters along northern seaboards before the storm exits the Philippine Area of Responsibility.
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