Typhoon Champi: Taiwan Shuts Down as Storm Nears, More Than 600 Flights Cancelled

Typhoon seen from space (file photo)

Almost all of Taiwan shut down on Friday as Typhoon Champi bore down on the island, with the transport ministry cancelling all 262 domestic flights and more than 350 international ones. Financial markets also closed for the day, and schools and offices shut across the island — only the Kinmen islands, near the Chinese coast, opened as normal.

Once a super typhoon and among the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, Champi was still packing gusts of around 191 kph (119 mph) near its centre, Taiwan's Central Weather Administration said. The storm sat about 330 km (205 miles) east of Taiwan's southern tip and was forecast to pass just off the northeast coast before turning toward China and southern Japan. Its 320-km radius is wide enough to cover most of Taiwan, and experts say its impact could last nearly two days.

Officials say the storm is weakening and is not expected to make direct landfall. Its next stop is forecast to be Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa Prefecture. Taiwan is well drilled for typhoons, which keeps casualties low even when autumn storms strike outside the usual summer season.

Source: Reuters via KTWB — read more

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