Typhoon Champi Leaves 1 Dead, Hundreds Injured in Taiwan
The storm downed trees and caused widespread power outages, though it weakened as it passed.
Typhoon Champi caused at least one death and injured 350 people in Taiwan as its strong winds and heavy rains swept across the island overnight Friday into Saturday morning. The storm also knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of households and led to significant flight cancellations.
The storm, while not making a direct landfall, was wide enough to affect most of Taiwan. As of Saturday morning, the island's weather authorities reported that Champi was weakening. Land warnings for the typhoon were expected to be lifted by Saturday evening.
The Central Emergency Operations Center in Taiwan confirmed 350 injuries by Friday night. The single fatality was a man who was swept away by waves in Pingtung county, the southernmost part of the island.
According to the local newspaper United Daily News, which cited the island's power authorities, approximately 280,000 households lost electricity. However, power had been restored to 80% of these households by Saturday morning.
Transportation was also heavily impacted. Taiwan's main international airport in Taoyuan saw 563 flights canceled on Friday and an additional 261 flights canceled on Saturday, according to the semi-official Central News Agency.
The typhoon's strong winds brought down trees and signs, damaged smaller structures, and even caused the ceiling of a college dorm in Taipei to collapse. Champi was forecast to continue weakening as it moved toward Japan.