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.
