TAIPEI: Typhoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday, killing 1 person and injuring more than 500, downing trees and severing power, as it continued to weaken and head north towards the Chinese coast though it was not expected to make landfall there.
At one point a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, Champi is weakening though still packing gusts of around 126 kph (78 mph) near its centre, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration.
The storm was about 170 km (106 miles) northeast of Taiwan, having glanced off the island's northeastern coast in Yilan County early on Saturday, the CWA said.
The centre of the storm turned south around midnight, hugging the Yilan coastline before making a rare loop offshore and moving away northward. Wind gusts touched 227 kph (141 mph) in some coastal areas, knocking down power lines and sending roof tiles flying.
"It was most terrifying around midnight," said a retired teacher surnamed Lin as he inspected downed banana trees in his garden in Yilan. "It was a sleepless night. I haven't seen anything like this in many years."
The storm's forecast track shows it turning north, tracking up the Chinese coast and eventually moving into southern Japan.
Taiwan's fire department said the death toll remained at 1, a man swept away by waves from the island of Liuqiu, with 527 injuries during the heavy wind and torrential rain.
Taipower said more than 288,000 homes had lost electricity, though most had been reconnected.
The transport ministry said 259 flights were cancelled, an improvement from Friday, when the number was almost 1,000.
In the capital Taipei, there were downed trees and on-off squally rain showers.
Taipei resident Thomas Wang, 70, said the storm felt like something out of the horror film "Poltergeist".
"It was quite scary," he said, out running morning errands.
Governments in a swathe of northern and central Taiwan, including Taipei, declared a second day of office and school closures on Saturday.
Although more common in summer, typhoons can strike in autumn too.
China's emergency management ministry sent a team to the eastern province of Zhejiang as Champi approached, warning of strong winds and heavy rain through Sunday. It said it had readied 400 rescue workers and 600 pieces of equipment, while more than 41,000 firefighters were on emergency duty.
In Taizhou, a city on Zhejiang's coast, more than 3,800 fishing boats returned to harbour, offshore fish-farm workers were brought ashore and 2,084 island visitors were evacuated, state media reported.
Authorities halted 25 offshore construction projects and suspended 18 passenger ferry routes. - Reuters
