4 dead as Typhoon Megi wreaks havoc in Taiwan

TAIPEI — Typhoon Megi made landfall in Taiwan yesterday, the third storm to hit the island in two weeks, killing at least four people and injuring hundreds.

Packing winds of over 160kph, Megi blanketed the island by mid-afternoon as the eye of the storm made landfall on the east coast, cutting power to millions of homes.

Rainfall topped 300mm in the south and eastern mountains.

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, the 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 268 people were injured, including eight Japanese tourists travelling in a tour bus that was blown over in central Taiwan. Many of the injuries were from falling and wind-blown objects. The authorities also estimated more than two million households had lost power, while over 45,000 were without water.

The Taipei Water Department had earlier told residents to store water as early as possible because the city’s water supply had turned turbid because of the powerful typhoon and it would be difficult to purify.

More than 11,000 people had been evacuated, mostly from mountainous areas at risk of landslides or floods. About 3,000 went to shelters.

Television footage showed billboards and scaffolding torn down while trees were uprooted and roofs ripped off. The footage also showed waves surging past breakwaters in the north-eastern county of Yilan and outlying Orchid Island.

Bus, ferries and subway services were mostly suspended in the capital, Taipei, while four hundred international and domestic flights were cancelled as of yesterday afternoon, and over 400 delayed.

The typhoon was moving across Taiwan and expected to head into the Taiwan Strait and on towards China today where it will make landfall in the south-eastern province of Fujian.

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs said it had ordered the authorities across a large 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 a million homes.

It was followed closely by the smaller Typhoon Malakas.

Typhoons are common in the region at this time of the year, picking up strength as they cross warm Pacific waters and bringing fierce wind and rain when they reach land. AGENCIES