44 injured, thousands left without power as Typhoon Haikui hits Taiwan
By Wayne Chang, Alex Stambaugh and Heather Chen, CNN
Taipei, Taiwan (CNN) — At least 44 people were injured and tens of thousands of homes were left without power as Typhoon Haikui made its way across Taiwan, authorities said.
The storm made landfall along the southeastern coastal township of Donghe at about 3:40 p.m. local time, Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau said. The storm crossed the island and then left land at at 8 p.m.
At least 7,113 people across 11 cities and counties were evacuated, according to Taiwan’s Interior Ministry.
State electricity provider Taipower said 48,506 households were without power as of 10 p.m. local time.
Before making landfall, the storm was packing winds of up to 155 kilometers per hour (96 miles per hour), the weather bureau said. The capital Taipei was hit by heavy rains.
Haikui is the first typhoon in four years to directly hit Taiwan.
The weather bureau said the heavy rainfall brought by the storm could trigger flash flooding and landslides. The mountainous Hualien county could see total precipitation of more than 500 millimeters, it added.
The typhoon was previously expected to make landfall near the southeastern city of Taitung around 5 p.m. local time on Sunday.
Seven counties and cities in southern and eastern Taiwan suspended school and work for Sunday, according to the respective local governments.
In addition, Yunlin county and the outlying Penghu county will suspend school and work from Sunday noon. The southwest cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung and five counties across the island announced that schools and offices would be closed Monday, CNA reported.
CNA added that 246 flights in and out of Taiwan, mainly on domestic or regional routes, had been delayed or canceled through 6 p.m. local time on Sunday.
In neighboring Hong Kong, at least 86 injuries were reported from another typhoon, Saola, which made landfall in the city after passing through the northeastern Philippines.
In an update on Saturday, Hong Kong authorities said they had received more than 1,500 reports of fallen trees, 21 cases of flooding and two reports of landslides.
That typhoon has since weakened to a tropical storm but left in its wake hundreds of canceled and disrupted flights.
The-CNN-Wire
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With previous reporting from CNN’s Chris Lau, Tara Subramaniam, Nectar Gan and Jessie Yeung in Hong Kong
