Typhoon Koinu Brushes Past Taiwan with Lashing Rain; 190 People Hurt
16:25 JST, October 5, 2023
TAITUNG, Taiwan (Reuters) — Typhoon Koinu brushed past southern Taiwan on Thursday, injuring 190 people and causing some damage but no deaths, as lashing rains and strong winds forced millions of people in a swathe of cities to miss work and school.
Koinu, which means “puppy” in Japanese, made landfall on Taiwan’s Hengchun peninsula as a category four typhoon – indicating winds of up to 252 kph (156 mph) – but it weakened as it crossed into the Taiwan Strait and headed towards China’s Guangdong province, according to Tropical Storm Risk.
The heaviest rain fell in mountainous and sparsely populated parts of Pingtung county in the south, and the east coast counties of Taitung and Hualien, but the typhoon also affected the major southern port city of Kaohsiung.
Most cities and counties declared a day off work and school though the island’s capital, Taipei, home to financial markets, was not affected and was operating as normal.
Chipmaker TSMC 2330.TW said its factories were also working normally.
The typhoon entered the Taiwan Strait late on Thursday morning but heavy rain was forecast to last into Friday, mostly in the island’s south and east.
Taiwan’s fire department reported 190 injuries but no deaths, as well as some damage to buildings.
However, more damage was reported on Orchid Island off Taitung’s coast in the Pacific Ocean and home to about 5,000 people, with pictures on social media showing cars blown off roads and fishing boats sunk in a harbour.
Taiwan’s two main domestic airlines, UNI Air and Mandarin Airlines, cancelled most their flights for Thursday, while ferries to outlying islands were also stopped.
A total of 46 international flights were cancelled, the transport ministry, said, but the high speed rail connecting northern and southern Taiwan was not affected.
"News Services" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
FBI Identifies Thomas Matthew Crooks as ‘Subject Involved’ in Trump Rally Shooting
-
Donald Trump Whisked off Stage in Pennsylvania after Apparent Gunshots Rang Through the Crowd
-
Japanese Executive among 11 Arrested in Myanmar for Inflating Rice Prices
-
Japan’s Nikkei Reclaims 40,000 Level on Weak Yen, Foreign Buying (UPDATE 1)
-
U.S. President Joe Biden Drops Out of the 2024 Race after Disastrous Debate Inflamed Age Concerns
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Aviation Fuel Shortage Causes Problems at Regional Airports; Growing Demand, Lack of Workers to Transport
- Prices of over 10,000 Food and Beverage Items to Rise This Year; Figure is down from over 30,000 Last Year
- Sony Group to End Production of Blu-ray Discs; Market Has Shrunk Due To Growth Of Hard Disk Drives, Streaming
- Japan Ministry Concerned Over Same-Sex Couple Receiving City-Issued Resident Certificates Referring to ‘Common-Law Husband’
- Japan Court OKs Sex Change without Surgery