TAIPEI
\nMost shops and schools were shut across Taiwan on Friday as Typhoon Champi neared the island, forcing hundreds of people to leave their homes ahead of the powerful storm. The typhoon is expected to sweep past Taiwan\u2019s northeast as it moves toward China and Japan, triggering the cancelation of hundreds of flights in the region.
\nAt least one person has been killed in Taiwan after being swept away by waves whipped up by the typhoon, authorities said. More than 160 others have been injured. Champi is the latest in a busy Pacific storm season turbocharged by the El Nino weather phenomenon that has caused unprecedented warming in the equatorial Pacific.
\nThe storm was briefly a super typhoon as it crossed the ocean, with reported maximum sustained wind speeds of nearly 300 kilometers (186 miles) per hour, but has since weakened. It gathered strength as it neared Taiwan on Friday afternoon and now has maximum speeds of 194 kph (120 miles per hour), according to the latest update from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
\nHeavy rain, strong winds and giant waves have battered the island, and thousands of military personnel are on standby to assist with rescue efforts. More than 2,600 people have fled their homes ahead of Champi. Authorities were racing to restore power to thousands of households, mostly in coastal areas.
\n\u201cAs it approaches Taiwan\u2019s northeastern tip… the typhoon may slow down. If it slows down, its impact will last longer,\u201d the Central Weather Administration\u2019s Lu Kuo-chen told a briefing. Stores were closed on Japan\u2019s southwestern island of Ishigaki, near Taiwan, and business owners draped windproof nets over their shops in an attempt to protect them from the strong winds.
\nSome tourists were also stranded due to flight cancelations, with many sheltering inside hotels. \u201cLot of shops and restaurants were still open yesterday, and I could stock up on food, but there\u2019s not much information online about the typhoon and what to do,\u201d said Laura Czypulovski, 33, who lives in Zurich. \u201cIt is now a pain to get back home \u2014 especially because it impacts my following flights, and then it caused a lot of rebooking.\u201d
\nYuki Koike, who lives in Tokyo, said his flight had also been canceled but was trying to make the best out of the situation. \u201cWe knew we could have a typhoon, but we thought it will reach a bit earlier so that we could avoid it,\u201d said the 31-year-old.
\nBut \u201cwe use the time stuck here to work and to plan our wedding in December.\u201d Professional storm-chaser James Reynolds posted a video on X from Ishigaki showing a \u201cfierce storm tide\u201d in a channel leading to the island\u2019s harbor as Champi\u2019s strong winds whipped across the water.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TAIPEI Most shops and schools were shut across Taiwan on Friday as Typhoon Champi neared the island, forcing hundreds of people to leave their homes ahead of the powerful storm. The typhoon is expected to sweep past Taiwan\u2019s northeast as it moves toward China and Japan, triggering the cancelation of hundreds of flights in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-573938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n