Why Taiwan is so well-prepared for super-typhoons

By Erik Shilling

Typhoon Nepartak, one of the most powerful typhoons ever to hit Taiwan, made landfall at about 6 p.m. eastern time on Thursday, making quick work of cars, signs, roofs, trees, and a host of other objects on the island country. 

But for a storm of such power—one meteorologist had said it could be a "once-in-a-generation" typhoon—the death toll, three as of Friday afternoon, was surprisingly low, though dozens more were injured. 

That's mostly because typhoon preparation in Taiwan is serious business. It involves a lot of what you'd expect—boarding up windows, battening down hatches, etc—but also, importantly, wholesale evacuations, especially in the southern part of the country, which is often hit the hardest.