Typhoon Champi has swept past Taiwan, killing one person and injuring more than 500, while bringing down trees and disrupting power supplies.
The storm has continued to weaken as it moves north towards the Chinese coast, although it is not expected to make landfall there.
According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA), a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, Champi, is weakening though still packing gusts of around 126 kph (78 mph) near its centre.
The CWA said the storm was about 170 km (106 miles) northeast of Taiwan, having glanced off the island’s northeastern coast in Yilan County early on Saturday.
The centre of the storm turned south around midnight, hugging the Yilan coastline before making a rare loop offshore and moving away northward.
Wind gusts touched 227 kph (141 mph) in some coastal areas, knocking down power lines and sending roof tiles flying.
The storm’s forecast track shows it turning north, tracking up the Chinese coast and eventually moving into southern Japan.
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Taiwan’s fire department said the death toll remained at 1, a man swept away by waves from the island of Liuqiu, with 527 injuries during the heavy wind and torrential rain.
Taipower said more than 288,000 homes had lost electricity, though most had been reconnected.
The transport ministry said 259 flights were cancelled, an improvement from Friday, when the number was almost 1,000.
China’s emergency management ministry sent a team to the eastern province of Zhejiang as Champi approached, warning of strong winds and heavy rain through Sunday.
It said it had readied 400 rescue workers and 600 pieces of equipment, while more than 41,000 firefighters were on emergency duty.
