Taipei: Typhoon Champi killed one person and injured hundreds in Taiwan as strong winds and heavy rain battered the island overnight into Saturday, uprooting trees, damaging vehicles and disrupting electricity supplies.
Although the typhoon did not make direct landfall in Taiwan, its wide reach affected much of the island. Taiwan's weather authorities said the storm was weakening on Saturday morning, with land warnings expected to be lifted by the evening.
Taiwan's Central Emergency Operations Centre reported 350 injuries as of Friday night. The only reported death was that of a man who was swept away by waves in Pingtung County, in southern Taiwan.
A separate report on Saturday said more than 500 people had been injured. The two reports gave different injury figures.
The storm also disrupted electricity supplies to around 280,000 households, according to Taiwan's United Daily News, citing power authorities. By Saturday morning, electricity had been restored to 80% of affected households.
Across the island, strong winds brought down trees, signs, and smaller structures. In Taipei, uprooted trees damaged vehicles, while intermittent heavy rain continued in some areas. The storm also brought down the ceiling of a college dormitory in the capital.
Typhoon weakens as it moves north
Champi, which was at one point classified as a super typhoon and described as one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, was weakening but continued to produce powerful winds.
Taiwan's Central Weather Administration reported gusts of around 126 kph near the storm's centre.
The typhoon was moving north towards the Chinese coast, although it was not expected to make landfall there. It was also expected to head towards Japan as it weakened.
(With inputs from AP via PTI & Reuters)
