Typhoon Champi shuts down Taiwan: 979 flights cancelled, one dead, 171 injured

Almost all of Taiwan shut down on Friday 23 October as Typhoon Champi, at one point a super typhoon and among the strongest Pacific storms of the year, churned about 220 km off the island's east coast, Reuters reported (carried by Dawn). One person has been killed and 171 injured.

The storm in numbers

Forecasters expect Champi to pass just off northeast Taiwan, turn north towards the Chinese coast and then move on to southern Japan, passing first over Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa. It is weakening, but forecaster Liu Pei-teng said a landfall could not be ruled out if the storm "stalls, loops or wobbles". Its effects could last nearly two days.

What is closed

• Offices, schools and financial markets across Taiwan; only the Kinmen islands opened as normal.
• Taipei's metro and buses ran a reduced service; the north-south high-speed rail ran as usual.
• Yilan County handed out sandbags and put amphibious vehicles and rescue boats on standby; coastal towns got mobile alerts warning of gusts above 150 kph.

If you are travelling

Pakistanis flying to Taiwan, or connecting through Taipei to Japan, Korea or the Americas, should check with their airline before leaving home: cancellations are likely to continue into Saturday in the north. Travellers heading to Okinawa and southern Japan should watch the Japan Meteorological Agency's warnings over the weekend.

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