Dozens injured as Typhoon Haikui sweeps across Taiwan

More than 40 people were injured in Taiwan after Typhoon Haikui ripped across the island, uprooting trees and forcing thousands to evacuate.

The storm, which made landfall on Sunday on the east coast – was the first to directly hit the island in four years.

Amid torrential rain and high winds, two people in a mountainous region were hurt after a falling tree hit a car.

Dozens of others were injured, mainly by falling debris, said officials.

On Monday, clean-up crews were working on restoring services after 160,000 homes lost power on Sunday. But so far there are no reports of major structural damage.

Although this is typhoon season in the Western Pacific, which has seen 11 so far, Haikui is the first major storm to directly hit Taiwan in four years.

Businesses, schools and other places remained closed on the island, while domestic flights and ferry services to surrounding islands were cancelled.

The storm had packed winds of up to 200km/h (124 mph) but there was no major structural damage or any reported deaths.

Taiwan’s southern and eastern regions were the worst hit, while the capital Taipei on the island’s northern tip received rains.

Ahead of the storm’s landfall, more than 7,000 people had been evacuated from areas where authorities feared landslides and other collapses triggered by the storm.

Typhoon Haikui has now weakened to a tropical storm and moved out into the Taiwan Strait, heading to China’s southern coast where it is due to hit on Monday night local time.

It comes just two days after Typhoon Saola, which bypassed Taiwan but sparked Hong Kong and southern China’s highest storm threat in its approach. The storm arrived on Saturday, lashing Hong Kong but damage was less than expected.

Chinese authorities on Monday extended warnings from Saola into Haikui as the new typhoon approached, calling on boats to come into harbour with strong winds and big surf.

(BBC)

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