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Typhoon Podul struck Taiwan’s sparsely populated southeast coast on Wednesday, driving winds up to 191 kph (118 mph). Large parts of the south and east shut down, and hundreds of flights were cancelled. Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons, most often along its mountainous Pacific-facing east coast.
Podul made landfall in Taitung around 1 p.m. (0500GMT), according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration. Early Wednesday, phones in parts of Taitung lit up with a warning: “Destructive winds from typhoon expected. Take shelter ASAP,” followed by guidance that gusts above 150 kph (93 mph) were likely in the coming hours.
Nine cities and counties suspended work and school for the day, including the southern hubs of Kaohsiung and Tainan. In Taipei, home to the island’s financial markets, there were blustery winds but no impact.
Authorities are also evacuating people whose homes were damaged by a July typhoon that brought record winds and hit Taiwan’s west coast directly, damaging the electricity grid. The government said more than 5,500 people were evacuated ahead of Podul’s arrival.
All 252 domestic flights were cancelled on Wednesday, along with 129 international flights, the transport ministry said. China Airlines (2610.TW) and EVA Air (2618.TW) said most cancellations were on routes from Kaohsiung, with some flights from Taoyuan — the island’s main international airport — also halted.
After landfall, the storm is expected to cross Taiwan’s more densely populated western coast before heading toward China’s Fujian province later this week. Up to 600 mm (24 inches) of rain is forecast over the next few days in southern mountainous areas.
Earlier this month, some southern regions saw more than a year’s worth of rain in a single week, triggering widespread landslides and flooding that left four people dead.
