The third typhoon to hit Taiwan in two weeks killed four people and injured scores Tuesday, bringing violent winds and heavy rain as schools and offices closed.
Typhoon Megi forced thousands to evacuate their homes and played havoc with rail and road networks as it made landfall in the eastern county of Hualien in the early afternoon.
One man aged 40 died in a car accident in high winds while a 65-year-old man was killed when he was hit by falling scaffolding, and a 17-year-old boy drowned when his boat overturned, authorities said, with the deaths all in the south.
Also in the south, a 48-year-old man fell to his death as he was repairing the roof of a house.
At least 167 people were injured, including seven Japanese tourists and a local guide when their bus was bowled over by winds on a highway in central Taiwan, according to the national fire agency.
Billboards and scaffolding were torn down, and television footage showed waves surging past breakwaters in the northeastern county of Yilan and outlying Orchid Island.
Over 8,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and around 2,800 are in shelters, according to the Central Emergency Operation Center. At least two million households have lost power.
Four hundred international and domestic flights were canceled as of Tuesday afternoon, and over 400 delayed. Most trains and ferries were halted.
In the capital Taipei, which was also lashed by downpours and winds, bus services and overground metro trains were suspended as some roads were flooded.
More than 900 millimeters (35 inches) of rain had fallen in mountainous areas of Yilan as of Tuesday afternoon, reports said.
The weather bureau said accumulated rainfall in mountainous areas could reach 1,300 millimeters before the storm moves on, increasing the risk of landslides.
“Typhoon Megi has maintained its strength after making landfall and will continue to bring strong winds and rains till tomorrow morning,” said forecaster Shang Ching-sheng.

Source: Arab News