Taiwan:  Throughout the course of Thursday night and Friday (local time) we have been receiving reports from our church leadership regarding the conditions in Taiwan.

Taiwan’s first major tropical storm of the season made landfall Friday, July 8, at about 5.50am (local time)  in the eastern county of Taitung with winds of 234 kph (145mph).

There has been a significant amount of damage left in the wake of the storm.  Early reports indicate that there has been at least one storm-related fatality.  This is much different than when Super Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines in 2013.

The island’s central weather bureau said it expected the storm to linger over Taiwan for up to eight hours and warned citizens to prepare for heavy downpours.

The storm system spans 200km (125 miles) and is moving north-west at a speed of 17km/h, towards mainland China, where it is expected to make landfall on Saturday morning (the guardian.com).

The following images were sent in by church members. 

Update from Church Leaders:

We have received news that the District Superintendent in Taiwan has contacted every church and up to this point no church has had any problems, they are all fine. They ask for prayer especially in Taitung that was hardest hit.  We do not currently have a Nazarene church in that City.  The Taiwan church is also asking for prayer for Pintung County where we have 14 churches.

Please continue to pray for the people of Taiwan.