Typhoon Kong-rey hits Taiwan’s east coast, leaving 2 dead, hundreds injured

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A powerful typhoon made landfall in Taiwan, killing two people and bringing high winds and floods to much of the island’s east coast and northern areas. Typhoon Kong-rey plowed into Taitung county on Thursday at 114 mph with gusts of up to 141 mph. Parts of the eastern counties of Yilan and Hualien were flooded. Taiwan authorities reported 205 injuries from the storm and said they were seeking to contact a pair of Czech tourists who had been hiking in a national park. Earlier Thursday, the typhoon’s eye blew about 68 miles east of the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes, where many villagers had moved to shelters a day earlier.