Typhoon Megi Leaves 4 Dead, 300 injured in Taiwan | WeatherBug
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Typhoon Megi Leaves 4 Dead, 300 injured in Taiwan

May 7, 2017
By Japan Economic Newswire
Typhoon Megi swept through Taiwan on Tuesday, bringing strong winds and torrential rains that killed four people and injured more than 300 others including eight Japanese tourists who were riding in a bus that overturned, authorities said.

An official at the Central Emergency Operation Center told Kyodo News that the high winds blew over the bus as it traveled north on the Formosa Freeway in Changhua, central Taiwan.

The vehicle, which was carrying 29 Japanese and two Taiwanese, fell on its side on the freeway.

Among the injured Japanese, one woman was hospitalized in intensive care for a head injury, according to the Interchange Association, which handles bilateral exchanges in the absence of diplomatic relations between the two sides.

The Japanese tourists, ranging in age from 52 to 77, arrived in Taiwan on Sunday on a flight from Tokyo's Haneda Airport as part of a group tour.

A two-vehicle collision in the southernmost county of Pingtung killed a 40-year-old man. In the central city of Chiayi, a 17-year-old youth drowned while inspecting a reservoir, while a 65-year-old died after being struck by scaffolding. Also, a 48-year-old man died after falling from a roof in the southwestern county of Yunlin.

Trains and high-speed rail services were suspended all around the island. Hundreds of domestic and international flights were canceled or postponed.

Megi, which made landfall at around 2 p.m. in the eastern county of Hualien, also caused power outages affecting more than 3 million homes. Also, the water supply of more than 286,000 families was cut off.

The center of the typhoon exited Yunlin in the evening but the effects are expected to continue into Wednesday morning and some counties have reportedly ordered schools to remain closed.

Official media in mainland China said coastal residents are bracing for approaching typhoon, which is expected to make landfall in Fujian province on Wednesday morning,

XInhua News Agency said about 55,000 fishing boats from east China's Fujian and Zhejiang provinces have returned to port to take shelter, and about 174,000 people in the two provinces have moved to safe places.

It said schools have been canceled, while train services and flights have been suspended.

Last week, Meranti, the strongest typhoon to hit mainland China and Taiwan this year, killed at least 10 people in the mainland and one in Taiwan.

Image: A woman struggles against powerful gusts of wind generated by typhoon Megi across the the island in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)