Thirty-three people were injured and one was missing within three hours after Typhoon Podul made landfall in Taitung County, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday.
The typhoon made landfall in Taitung’s Taimali Township (太麻里) at 1pm and departed Taiwan proper at 4pm via Tainan’s Cigu District (七股).
As of 2pm yesterday, 33 people had sustained injuries, 13 of whom were in Kaohsiung and Taitung County.
Photo: CNA
A 28-year-old man surnamed Lin (林) was reported missing after being swept away by waves while fishing with his friend in Budai Township (布袋), Chiayi County, the center said.
More than 13,000 households lost electricity nationwide, with 58,000 awaiting restoration by 3pm, it said.
Sixty-four shelters were opened in Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, accommodating 905 people, the center said.
Photo:CNA
Meanwhile, 49 passenger flights and 15 cargo flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport were canceled due to the typhoon, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said.
By 3:19pm, strong crosswinds at the airport caused 26 inbound flights to divert to other airports, the airport operator said.
Taiwan Railway Corp yesterday canceled all eastbound trains to Taitung, as well as all trains operating on the South Link Railway until today. All trains operating after 3pm yesterday between Chiayi County and Pingtung County’s Fangliao Township (枋寮) were canceled as well.
Photo courtesy of the ROC Army
Starting at 2pm yesterday, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp dispatched three trains with only non-reserved seats every hour.
Both railway systems are expected to resume normal operations today.
Except flights to Kinmen County, which would still be under the influence of Podul this morning, international and domestic flights would return to normal as well.
Podul’s relatively rapid movement across the east and south of Taiwan spared several cities from serious harm, particularly those that are still recovering from the flooding damage triggered by Typhoon Danas and the southwest monsoon.
As of 7pm yesterday, Typhoon Podul’s center was 50km southwest of Penghu County. It was moving northwest at a speed of 34kph. It was forecast to be about 580km southwest of Kinmen at 5pm today.
The typhoon slightly weakened after its structure was damaged by Taiwan’s topography, Central Weather Administration forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said.
Podul was forecast to pass through waters near Penghu last night and make landfall in China through southern coastal areas near Kinmen before dawn today, maintaining the strength of a typhoon before gradually weakening to a tropical storm, Chu said.
Taiwan and Penghu were also forecast to gradually exit the storm’s radius of strong winds, Chu said, adding that both sea and land typhoon warnings are likely to be lifted early this morning.
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