Typhoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday, leaving one person dead and more than 500 injured, felling trees and cutting electricity supplies before moving north towards the Chinese coast as it weakened.
Although the storm continued to lose strength, it was still packing wind gusts of around 126 kph (78 mph) near its centre, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA).
Champi, which had earlier reached super typhoon status and ranked among the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, was positioned about 170 km (106 miles) north-east of Taiwan after skirting the island’s north-eastern coast in Yilan County early on Saturday, reports Reuters.
The storm’s centre turned south around midnight, hugging the Yilan coastline before making a rare loop offshore and heading northwards.
Peak wind gusts reached 227 kph (141 mph) in several coastal areas, bringing down power cables and blowing roof tiles into the air.
Taiwan’s fire department confirmed one death — a man swept away by high waves off Liuqiu Island — while 527 people were injured by torrential rain and strong winds.
Power provider Taipower said more than 288,000 households had lost electricity, although supplies had since been restored to the majority of affected homes.
Transport and public life remained disrupted across the island. The transport ministry reported 259 flight cancellations on Saturday, a significant improvement from Friday, when nearly 1,000 flights were grounded.
Meanwhile, local governments across large parts of northern and central Taiwan, including the capital Taipei, declared a second consecutive day of office and school closures.
In Taipei, streets were littered with fallen trees as intermittent squally showers continued.
Seventy-year-old resident Thomas Wang compared the storm to something out of the horror film Poltergeist, saying it was “quite scary” as he went out to run morning errands.
In Yilan, retired teacher Mr Lin inspected fallen banana trees in his garden after the storm.
“It was most terrifying around midnight,” Lin recalled. “It was a sleepless night. I haven’t seen anything like this in many years.”
Forecasts indicate that Champi will turn north and track along the Chinese coastline without making direct landfall before eventually moving towards southern Japan.
In preparation for the storm’s approach, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched a task team to the eastern province of Zhejiang, warning of strong winds and heavy rainfall through Sunday.
Chinese authorities readied 400 rescue personnel and 600 pieces of equipment, while placing more than 41,000 firefighters on active emergency duty.
In the coastal city of Taizhou in Zhejiang, state media reported that more than 3,800 fishing vessels had returned to harbour, offshore fish-farm workers had been brought ashore, and 2,084 visitors had been evacuated from nearby islands.
Coastal authorities also halted 25 offshore construction projects and suspended 18 passenger ferry routes.
