One dead, 94 injured as Typhoon Champi disrupts travel across East Asia

One person was killed and 94 were injured in Taiwan, and about 1,300 people were evacuated from mountainous areas while hundreds of flights were cancelled on Friday across East Asia as Typhoon Champi brought powerful winds and heavy rain to Taiwan, forcing schools, offices and transport services to shut down.

Taiwan cancelled 262 domestic flights and 669 international flights as authorities issued warnings to its citizen about hazardous weather conditions, the transport ministry said, Reuters reported.

Namiko, which was also previously a super typhoon, was generating winds of around 191 kph around its centre as it moved near Taiwan’s eastern coast, the Central Weather Administration said. It was expected to follow a path north of Taiwan before turning away to China and then south towards Japan.

Mobile phone alerts went out to warn coastal communities of strong winds and high seas. Almost a metre of rain was expected in mountainous regions in northern Taiwan, including around the capital Taipei.

In the Philippines, officials limited the ferry’s while wild seas in northern coastal regions posed a threat.

Despite losing strength, Champi’s large radius of wind was projected to keep it affecting the region for an extended period, experts said.