Super Typhoon Nepartak hits Taiwan

Taiwan: At least three people has been killed and about 172 others injured after super typhoon Nepartak hit Taiwan, distorting power supplies, displacing thousands of people from their homes and grounding more than 600 flights on Friday.

According to an emergency website, bullet train services were suspended and more than 340 international and 300 domestic flights cancelled.

The typhoon had reached the Taiwan Strait, getting weakening as it moves towards China’s southeastern province of Fujian, but flooding and strong winds continued to hit the island’s central and southern areas.

Emergency officials confirmed that more than 17,300 people have been evacuated from their homes, and over 517,000 homes affected by power outages.

“The wind is very strong,” said a resident of Taitung, the eastern Taiwan city where the typhoon landed.

“Many hut roofs and signs have been blown off.” The typhoon halted work in most of Taiwan. There were no reports of damage at semiconductor plants in the south.

In a rating by Tropical Storm Risk, the typhoon at the top of its ranking was rated as category five, but since it was weakening, it should be a tropical storm by the time it hits Fujian on Saturday morning.

China official News Service said more than 4000 people working on coastal fish farms in Fujian were evacuated and fishing boats recalled to port.
The storm is expected to increase the already terrible flooding experienced in parts of central and eastern China.