TAIPEI (Reuters) -Typhoon Podul blew through Taiwan’s south on Wednesday packing winds of up to 191 km per hour (118 mph) and leaving one person missing, as a large swathe of the island shut down and hundreds of flights were cancelled.
Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons, generally along its mountainous east coast facing the Pacific.
Podul slammed into the southeastern city of Taitung around 1 p.m. (0500 GMT), passed through the southern tip of the island and then passed into the Taiwan Strait some five hours later, Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration said.
One person was reported missing and 33 others injured, the government said.
Nine cities and counties announced the suspension of work and school for Wednesday, including the southern metropolises of Kaohsiung and Tainan. In the capital Taipei, home to Taiwan’s financial markets, there were blustery winds but no impact.
Authorities also evacuated those whose homes were damaged by a July typhoon that brought record winds and damaged the electricity grid in a rare direct hit to Taiwan’s west coast.
The government said more than 5,500 people had been evacuated ahead of the typhoon’s arrival.
All domestic flights were cancelled on Wednesday – 252 in total – while 155 international ones were axed too, the transport ministry said.
Taiwan’s two main international carriers China Airlines and EVA Air said their cancellations were focused on routes out of Kaohsiung, with some flights from the island’s main international airport at Taoyuan stopped as well.
The storm is next expected to head for China’s southern province of Fujian.
As much as 600 mm (24 inches) of rain was forecast in southern mountainous areas over the next few days, the Central Weather Administration said.
More than a year’s rainfall fell in a single week this month in some southern areas, unleashing widespread landslides and flooding, with four deaths.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Editing by Michael Perry and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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