Taiwan evacuated nearly 8,300 people from coastal and mountainous areas and closed schools as a tropical storm was expected to lash the island’s south on Wednesday.
Fung-wong had super typhoon strength when it battered the Philippines on Sunday, causing flooding, landslides, power outages, and at least 27 deaths. It was still holding tropical storm strength on Wednesday morning but was expected to continue losing wind speed and size as it moved towards Taiwan.
Heavy rainfall and flooding caused by the storm had injured at least 51 people as of Wednesday morning, according to the National Fire Agency.
Authorities evacuated 8,326 people, the majority from the eastern Hualien county, where a typhoon in September left 18 people dead.
An overflowing creek flooded a village in Hualien on Tuesday. Images carried by local media showed a car being swept away by floodwaters.
Schools and offices were closed in central and southern parts of Taiwan, including the coastal cities of Kaohsiung, Taichung and Tainan as well as Pingtung, Chiayi and Miaoli counties. The capital, Taipei, in the island’s north, operated as usual.
As of Wednesday morning, Fung-wong was about 140km southwest of Taiwan in the South China Sea, moving northeast at 16kmph. It was set to make landfall during the afternoon or evening and graze the southern part of the island before exiting.
The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 65kmph and even stronger gusts.
Authorities asked people to avoid going to the beach, where waves were expected to rise to 3-5m. Signboards, fences and flowerpots were to be secured in anticipation of strong winds.
In the Philippines, more than 623,300 people remained in evacuation centres on Wednesday, according to the Office of Civil Defence.
Many of the deaths in the Philippines resulted from landslides in the Cordillera, a mountainous region popular with backpackers and vacationers for its tree-dotted towns, cool breezes, strawberry fields, and rice terraces.
