The third typhoon to hit Taiwan this month killed at least four people and injured hundreds yesterday, knocking down trees and cutting power to millions.
Most schools and offices were shut and the north-south bullet train suspended services as Typhoon Megi, packing winds of well in excess of 160kph (100mph), roared in from the Pacific.
Major cities in Taiwan announced schools and offices would be shut for a second day today as the island’s weather authorities said that due to the large diameter of the typhoon, heavy rain and strong wind would not significantly abate until afternoon.
One man aged 40 died in a car accident in high winds while a 65-year-old man was killed when he was hit by falling scaffolding, and a 17-year-old boy drowned when his boat overturned, authorities said, with the deaths all in the south.
Also in the south, a 48-year-old man fell to his death as he was repairing the roof of a house.
At least 329 people were injured and more than 14,000 evacuated, the government’s Central Emergency Operation Centre (CEOC) said yesterday.
Authorities also estimated more than 3mn households had lost power, while more than 72,000 were without water.
Taiwan’s financial markets, which were shut yesterday because of the storm, will also be closed today, financial regulators said.
Hundreds of international flights were cancelled or delayed, while train services, halted yesterday, were also scheduled to be suspended until afternoon today.
A tour bus carrying 29 passengers from a Japanese tour group was knocked onto its side on the highway by strong gusts, injuring some of the tourists, transportation authorities said in a statement.
Local television footage showed the tourists climbing out of the bus through its windshield, while other TV footage showed trucks also knocked sideways on the highway and scaffolding ripping away from a building in central Taiwan.
In the capital Taipei, which was also lashed by downpours and winds, bus services and overground metro trains were suspended as some roads were flooded.
Media also showed scaffolding being blown off the top floor of the former Golden Plaza department store in Taichung City.
More than 1,000mm (39”) of rain had fallen in mountainous areas of Yilan as of afternoon yesterday, according to the weather bureau.
It said accumulated rainfall in some mountainous areas could reach 1,300mm before the storm moves on, increasing the risk of landslides.
“Typhoon Megi has weakened slightly in the past three hours but it will continue to bring winds and rains to Taiwan till tomorrow,” said weather bureau forecaster Hung Jen-sheng.
Speaking at the CEOC yesterday morning, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called on all government agencies to “fully mobilise from top to bottom” to carry out preventative evacuations, provide water pumps and earth-moving equipment to deal with landslides, flooding and other damage.
More than 35,000 soldiers are on standby to help with disaster relief.
Ahead of the storm, 3,700 tourists had been evacuated at the weekend from Orchid Island and Green Island.
The typhoon moved across Taiwan and is heading into the Taiwan Strait before it is expected to make landfall in China in its southeastern province of Fujian.
China’s ministry of civil affairs said that it had ordered authorities across a swathe of southern and eastern China to step up disaster prevention preparations.
This month, super Typhoon Meranti killed at least 28 people in China and Taiwan and cut power to more than 1mnn homes.
Typhoons are common in the region at this time of year, picking up strength as they cross warm Pacific waters and bringing fierce wind and rain when they reach land.