Taiwan largely shut down on Friday as Typhoon Champi approached the island also bringing torrential rain and strong wind gusts of up to 191 km/h. At least one person has died and 94 others have been injured as authorities evacuated nearly 1,300 residents from high-risk mountainous regions.
Although weakening from its earlier super typhoon status, Champi’s massive 320-kilometer wind radius covers nearly the entire island. Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) warned that the storm could still make direct landfall or hover along the coast, prolonging severe weather conditions over the next two days.
Up to a meter of rainfall is expected in northern mountain areas near Taipei. Coastal communities received emergency cell phone alerts warning of violent gusts exceeding 150 km/h also urging residents to seek immediate shelter. In northeastern Yilan County, local authorities distributed sandbags and placed military amphibious vehicles and inflatable rescue boats on standby for disaster relief.
Financial markets, schools and offices across most of the island were closed on Friday. Transportation came to a near standstill with all 262 domestic flights and over 660 international flights canceled. While Taipei’s subway system operated on a reduced schedule, the north-south high-speed rail continued normal operations.
Champi fueled by unusually warm ocean temperatures is forecast to pass near Taiwan’s northeast before tracking toward mainland China and southern Japan over the weekend.
