Typhoon Podul crossed southern Taiwan on Wednesday with wind speeds of up to 110mph (177km/h), equivalent to a category 2 hurricane.
Podul had developed a week earlier, near the Northern Mariana Islands, and tracked west across the Philippine Sea, achieving typhoon status on Tuesday before making landfall in south-east Taiwan the following day.
Podul whipped up high waves along the east coast, where a man died after being swept away while fishing. As the storm travelled overland, it dumped large amounts of rain across the south of the island, with 440mm recorded in parts of Pingtung County, causing widespread flooding and agricultural damage.
Schools, offices and businesses closed as the storm approached, and more than 7,000 people were evacuated from their homes, mainly in mountainous regions, amid fears of flash flooding and landslides.
Almost 300,000 homes lost power, shipping routes were suspended, and about 400 flights were cancelled, including domestic trips.
Podul then veered north-east across the Taiwan strait and weakened slightly to a severe tropical storm, before making landfall once again in Fujian province, China, in the early hours of Thursday.
Despite weaker winds, Podul lashed south-east China with similarly torrential rain – Macau on the south coast recorded 110mm in an hour.
Cape Verde experienced similar downpours on Monday after Tropical Storm Erin developed nearby, causing flash flooding on the north-west islands of Santo Antão and São Vicente. The latter received 193mm of rain within five hours, more than 150% of the yearly average.
At least nine deaths have been reported, with several people missing and about 1,500 displaced. Erin will pass to the north of the Caribbean over the weekend, and is expected to achieved hurricane status.
Meanwhile, as a heatwave grips the Middle East, the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley have particularly suffered in recent days. The region is susceptible to high temperatures because of its low altitude – it is several hundred metres below sea level in places – and temperatures approached 50C (122F) on Wednesday.
Unusually high humidity – about 80% at times – has contributed to the sweltering temperatures. As humid air cools more slowly than drier air, overnight cooling has been limited, leading Israel to record its highest overnight minimum on Wednesday, when it reached 38C near Mount Sodom.
Temperature records were also set in southern and western Europe this week as yet another heatwave swept the continent. Alongside myriad date records, several all-time peaks were hit in southern France on Sunday and Monday, including in the department of Aude (43.4C) and the cities of Angoulême, Bergerac and Bordeaux (42.1C, 42.1C and 41.6C respectively).
Also on Monday, it reached record highs in the Croatian cities of Šibenik (39.5C) and Dubrovnik (38.9C).
