Hundreds of flights cancelled across East Asia as Typhoon Champi roars toward Taiwan
Taiwan shut down schools, offices and its stock exchange as Typhoon Champi — the strongest storm recorded anywhere this year — roared toward the island, grounding nearly a thousand flights and leaving one person dead.
Taiwan came to a near standstill on Friday as Typhoon Champi, the strongest storm recorded anywhere in the world this year, roared toward the island. Work and classes were suspended in 21 of the island's 22 counties and cities, and Taiwan's stock exchange — one of the largest in the world — was closed for the day.
Authorities cancelled all 262 domestic flights along with more than 660 international ones. Forecasters warned that up to 90 centimetres of rain could fall through Saturday, with wind gusts reaching force 12 — the top of the Beaufort scale — in the island's north. Residents were urged to stay away from beaches and mountains.
One person was killed on Thursday after being swept away by waves off Liuqiu, a small island southwest of Taiwan's main island. Ninety-four others were injured, many in traffic accidents and falls, and more than 1,000 people were evacuated from vulnerable areas.
Champi peaked earlier in the week with sustained winds of 298 kilometres an hour — the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane — before weakening slightly to around 155 kilometres an hour as it neared Taiwan. The storm also battered Japan's Okinawa islands, knocking out power to thousands of homes and grounding flights, and is now forecast to turn north toward Japan and China's eastern coast.
Reporting based on coverage from BBC News.