In 1999, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake rocked Taiwan, devastating its central region. And a few years later, while teaching English in Tainan, I had the chance to visit the rebuilding in Taichung and see firsthand the earthquake’s destruction. During that time, I experienced several minor earthquakes and typhoons of my own, leaving me to wonder how my ancestors ever survived living on an island in the natural disaster-prone East Asian waters.

As I get older and news of disasters pile up, this is something I think about more.

Typhoon Morakat swept the island on Sunday, causing mudslides in Kaohsiung, crashing a helicopter, and killing 62 people. There are hundreds still missing. The typhoon then roared into China, displacing 1.4 million people in the southeast region.

The Boston Globe has documented this devastation in arresting collection of photos. I haven’t yet called my parents to ask about the status of my relatives in southern Taiwan, but I think that’s the next phone call I’m going to make.