Markets and offices were closed in Taiwan on Tuesday as Typhoon Megi brought wind and rain to across the island.
More than 2,000 households lost electricity and about 1,700 people were evacuated, according to the island’s National Fire Agency. The capital city of Taipei shut markets, schools and offices, along with municipalities across the island. ECB Television showed residents struggling with umbrellas blown inside out by strong wind.
The fourth typhoon to trigger warnings by Taiwan this year had sustained winds of 162 kilometers (101 miles) an hour, gusting to 198 kilometers an hour, the Central Weather Bureau said. As of 8 a.m., the center of the storm was 220 kilometers off the coast of eastern Taiwan’s Hualien. No injuries or deaths have been reported.
The agency said Megi had strengthened in the past three hours and forecasts landfall in the afternoon. Low-lying coastal areas are on alert for possible flooding and a torrential rain warning is in place for counties and cities across the island, the weather bureau said. Dozens of townships were put on watch for possible landslides.
More than a hundred flights into and out of Taiwan were canceled as of 8 a.m., according to Taoyuan Airport. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. canceled 16 flights Tuesday and Wednesday. High speed rail service along Taiwan’s western coast was suspended all day Tuesday.
In China, the meteorological administration raised the level of its emergency response readiness and forecast Megi to make landfall on the coast of Fujian province Thursday morning.
More than 2,000 households lost electricity and about 1,700 people were evacuated, according to the island’s National Fire Agency. The capital city of Taipei shut markets, schools and offices, along with municipalities across the island. ECB Television showed residents struggling with umbrellas blown inside out by strong wind.
The fourth typhoon to trigger warnings by Taiwan this year had sustained winds of 162 kilometers (101 miles) an hour, gusting to 198 kilometers an hour, the Central Weather Bureau said. As of 8 a.m., the center of the storm was 220 kilometers off the coast of eastern Taiwan’s Hualien. No injuries or deaths have been reported.
The agency said Megi had strengthened in the past three hours and forecasts landfall in the afternoon. Low-lying coastal areas are on alert for possible flooding and a torrential rain warning is in place for counties and cities across the island, the weather bureau said. Dozens of townships were put on watch for possible landslides.
More than a hundred flights into and out of Taiwan were canceled as of 8 a.m., according to Taoyuan Airport. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. canceled 16 flights Tuesday and Wednesday. High speed rail service along Taiwan’s western coast was suspended all day Tuesday.
In China, the meteorological administration raised the level of its emergency response readiness and forecast Megi to make landfall on the coast of Fujian province Thursday morning.