Taiwan cancels hundreds of flights and closes markets as Typhoon Champi approaches
Transport ministry cancelled all 262 domestic and 669 international flights; one person was killed and 94 injured in Taiwan, with almost 1,300 evacuated.
CNA reported that as Typhoon Champi drew near on Friday (Oct 23), nearly the whole of Taiwan closed down, with forecasts of heavy downpours and powerful gusts. The storm is weakening, but sources differ on whether it will reach the island. CNA reports it could still make direct landfall, while The Straits Times says it is not expected to make direct landfall.
Flights cancelled and markets closed
For Friday, 669 international flights and all 262 domestic ones were scrapped, the transport ministry stated. Schools and offices will operate normally only on the Kinmen islands, located beside the Chinese coast, while the island's financial markets were also shut.
Running on its normal schedule, the high-speed rail line linking north and south was unaffected. Though service was reduced, the subway and other public transport kept running in Taipei.
Storm size and track
Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Champi, which was once a super typhoon and among the most powerful Pacific storms this year, still produced gusts near its centre of about 191kmh. According to the CWA, roughly 320km separated the storm from the southern tip of Taiwan, to its east.
Its forecast track shows it passing just off northeastern Taiwan, turning north toward the Chinese coast and eventually moving into southern Japan. Large enough to blanket most of Taiwan, the storm's radius of around 320km was cited by forecasters, and weather experts added that its effects might continue for almost two days.
Liu Pei-teng, a forecaster at the CWA, told Reuters that the storm might still come ashore if it "stalls, loops, or wobbles from side to side" while nearing Taiwan. "The storm's wind radius is quite large, among the bigger ones in recent years," Liu said. "If the storm slows down, the strong winds will affect Taiwan for longer."
Casualties and preparations
Taiwan recorded one death and 94 injuries, and the government said nearly 1,300 people had been moved out of mountain areas.
Nearly a metre of rain was forecast for northern mountain areas, including near Taipei, and phone alerts sent to coastal towns cautioned about gusts above 150kmh and told residents to take shelter at once.
Sandbags were handed out by authorities in Yilan, a county in the northeast, which also readied amphibious vehicles and inflatable rescue boats. Suao, a port town that flooded badly in earlier typhoons, is led by Lee Ming-chen, who said: "When necessary, the military will come in to help people, including using amphibious vehicles for evacuations or disaster relief,"
Yonaguni, the westernmost inhabited island of Japan, in Okinawa Prefecture, is where the typhoon is forecast to pass first.
