Typhoon Champi Kills One and Injures 527 in Taiwan, Cuts Power to Over 167,000 Homes as It Heads Towards China

Powerful Typhoon Champi killed one person and injured more than 527 people as it swept past Taiwan on Saturday. The weakening storm is now heading north towards the Chinese coast.

Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Champi, earlier classified as a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, was still packing gusts of about 126 kilometres per hour (78 miles per hour) near its centre.

In the early hours of Saturday, the storm glanced off Taiwan's northeast coast. The CWA said the storm was then about 150 kilometres (93 miles) east of Taiwan. According to the forecast track, Champi will turn north towards the Chinese coast before eventually moving into southern Japan.

Taiwan's fire department said one man had been killed, swept away by waves from the island of Liuqiu. Another 527 people were injured during heavy wind and torrential rain — a significant rise in the number of injured compared with earlier counts.

The storm uprooted trees across Taiwan and severed power lines. Taipower said more than 167,000 homes had lost electricity, but most had now been reconnected.

Large parts of northern and central Taiwan, including Taipei, declared a second day of office and school closures on Saturday. Some flights were still being cancelled, disrupting air travel as well.

Taiwan is generally well prepared for typhoons, which keeps casualties comparatively low. This time too, the administration's advance preparation and closure decisions are believed to have played a role in avoiding greater damage.

Although typhoons are more common in summer, they can also strike in autumn — Champi is an example of that. A storm of such strength arriving late in the season delivered a message of extra caution for the people of Taiwan.

Even as the storm weakened, large parts of Taiwan, including the capital Taipei, remained mostly closed on Saturday and flight cancellations continued. It may take some more time for the situation to return to normal.

All eyes are now on Champi's next course. How much strength the storm retains as it moves towards the Chinese coast and how much impact it has on southern Japan are the main questions for the coming days.