Taiwan is working to restore power to tens of thousands after Typhoon Haikui barrelled into the east and south of the island, as cities and counties in the affected areas closed schools and businesses and domestic airlines cancelled flights.
Haikui made landfall in the mountainous and sparsely populated far southeast of Taiwan on Sunday afternoon, the first typhoon to directly hit Taiwan in four years. It then moved across the southern part of the island.
State-run utility Taipower said Haikui knocked out power for more than 240,000 households but that fewer than 58,000 were still waiting for electricity to be restored as of this morning, around half of those in the eastern county of Taitung.
Counties and cities across southern, eastern and central Taiwan cancelled classes and declared a day off for workers. In the capital city Taipei, there were sporadic gusty rain showers.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, said its plants in Taiwan were operating normally and had not been affected by the storm.
Taiwan's fire department reported five injuries as a result of the typhoon but no deaths. Taiwan's government said more than 7,000 people had been moved to safety, mainly in the south and east.
Taiwan airlines cancelled 189 domestic flights today, with only a handful scheduled to fly, while ferry services to surrounding islands were also suspended. There was less disruption to international flights, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said.
Haikui is much weaker than Typhoon Saola, which hit Hong Kong and the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Saturday.
As of this morning, Haikui had started to enter the Taiwan Strait and head towards China, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said. It will continue to bring heavy rain across Taiwan into the middle of the week.
China's national weather and ocean forecasters issued alerts for Haikui, warning of strong winds and large waves around coastal provinces Fujian and Guangdong and told ships to take precaution, Chinese state media reported.
