KABUL (Pajhwok): Typhoon Champi killed one person and injured 527 as it swept past Taiwan on Saturday, bringing powerful winds and torrential rain that toppled trees and cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes, according to Reuters.
The storm, which was previously a super typhoon, weakened while moving north towards China’s coast, with no landfall expected there, Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
The storm’s centre was about 170 kilometres northeast of Taiwan after passing close to Yilan County early on Saturday. Gusts reached 227 kph in some coastal areas, damaging power lines and tearing roof tiles from buildings.
“It was most terrifying around midnight,” said retired teacher Lin, who was inspecting fallen banana trees in his garden in Yilan. “It was a sleepless night. I haven’t seen anything like this in many years.”
Taiwan’s fire department said a man was swept away by waves off Liuqiu Island, while 527 people were injured. More than 288,000 homes lost electricity, although most supplies had been restored, Taipower said.
The transport ministry reported 259 flight cancellations, down from nearly 1,000 on Friday. Schools and offices in Taipei and several other areas of northern and central Taiwan remained closed for a second day.
In the capital, fallen trees and intermittent heavy showers disrupted daily life. Resident Thomas Wang, 70, described the storm as resembling the horror film “Poltergeist”.
“It was quite scary,” he said while out running morning errands.
Champi’s forecast track showed it turning north along China’s coast before eventually moving towards southern Japan.
China’s emergency management ministry sent a team to Zhejiang province and warned of strong winds and heavy rain through Sunday. It said 400 rescue workers and 600 pieces of equipment were ready, while more than 41,000 firefighters were on emergency duty.
In the coastal city of Taizhou, more than 3,800 fishing boats returned to harbour, offshore fish-farm workers were brought ashore and 2,084 visitors were evacuated from islands, state media reported. Authorities also halted 25 offshore construction projects and suspended 18 passenger ferry routes.
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