Storm brings injuries and widespread disruption
Typhoon Champi left one person dead and at least 527 people injured as strong winds and torrential rain swept Taiwan on Saturday, October 24. The fatality was reported on Liuqiu, where a man was carried away by waves, according to Taiwan's fire department.
The storm also caused extensive disruption to transport, electricity supplies and daily life. Around 280,000 households lost power, according to a Taiwanese newspaper cited by DW. By Saturday morning, electricity had been restored to about 80 percent of those homes. Fallen trees were reported in Taipei as gusts moved across the capital.
Officials cancelled 259 flights on Saturday. That was substantially fewer than the nearly 1,000 cancellations recorded on Friday, but it showed that Champi continued to affect travel even as conditions began to improve. Authorities in several northern and central districts, including Taipei, kept offices and schools closed for a second day.
The storm had earlier reached super-typhoon strength and was described as one of the most powerful Pacific storms of the year. It weakened while moving north from Taiwan toward China's eastern coast. Taiwan's Central Weather Administration measured gusts near Champi's centre at about 126 kilometres per hour during that weakening phase.
Preparations shift toward eastern China
Although forecasts did not expect Champi to make landfall in China, authorities there prepared for heavy rain and strong winds through Sunday. A response team was sent to Zhejiang province as the system approached the coast. Officials readied 400 rescue workers and 600 pieces of equipment, while more than 41,000 firefighters were placed on emergency duty.
The preparations reflected the continuing hazards around a storm even after its maximum wind speeds fall. Heavy rainfall, coastal waves and damaged infrastructure can remain dangerous beyond the centre of a typhoon, while transport networks and power systems may take time to return to normal.
For Taiwan, Saturday's figures captured both the scale of the disruption and the first signs of recovery. Hundreds of injuries had been recorded, a death confirmed and large areas had experienced outages. At the same time, most affected electricity customers had regained service and flight cancellations had fallen sharply from the previous day.
The Transport Ministry supplied the cancellation figures, while the fire department reported the casualty total.\n\nChampi's departure reduced the immediate wind threat to Taiwan, but emergency attention moved north toward the Chinese coast. Authorities on both sides continued monitoring the storm's weakening circulation and the rain and wind accompanying it.
