Typhoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday, October 24, killing one person and injuring 527, knocking out electricity and disrupting travel before it weakened and moved north toward China.
Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration said the storm passed close to Yilan, a county in the northeast. Fierce winds and heavy rain there toppled trees and damaged power lines. The storm’s center had made an unusual loop over the water.
It was moving away from the island, and wind gusts near its center reached about 126 kilometers per hour. Taiwan’s fire department said the person killed was a man carried away by waves near Liuqiu Island. More than 288,000 homes lost power at one point.
Most had power restored. A separate report on Saturday said about 56,000 households were still waiting for their service to be restored. The storm disrupted air travel, with 242 flights canceled on Saturday, compared with nearly 1,000 the day before.
More than 5,000 people had been evacuated ahead of the typhoon. Parts of northern and central Taiwan, including Taipei, kept schools and offices closed for a second day. Authorities warned that strong winds and rough seas could continue even as the storm weakened.
The storm was heading toward China’s coast, where it was not expected to make landfall. It would then continue toward southern Japan.