Taiwan Typhoon

The typhoon disrupted electricity supplies to more than 241,000 households and forced the evacuation of nearly 1,800 people from mountain villages, the agency said.

Television footage has shown powerful winds lifting off roofs, uprooting trees and electricity poles and destroying crops in eastern and northern parts of the island.

The Agriculture Council estimates Sepat has caused at least 420 million Taiwan dollars ($A16 million) in damages.

In the eastern region of Hualien, where up to 655 millimetres of rain have accumulated since Friday, mudslides have blocked a key highway, the authorities say.

Taiwan Transport stops

All domestic flights have been suspended, and China Airlines and the carrier EVA Airways have cancelled a total of 18 international flights.

Rail services were also affected. All morning train services were cancelled and the high-speed bullet train was not due to run again until the evening.

Ferries between Taiwan's Kinmen island and the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Chuanzhou were suspended for the weekend.

In China, the official news agency, Xinhua, says more than 450,000 people have been evacuated from the coast of the southern provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong ahead of the storm's arrival.

The agency said many flights and ferry services in the three provinces had also been cancelled, and tens of thousands of fishing boats ordered back to shore.

Meanwhile in Taiwan, 10 Vietnamese women detained at a facility in the eastern county of Ilan for violating immigration laws have escaped, apparently taking advantage of the bad weather, immigration officials say.

Typhoon Sepat hits Taiwan on way to China, at least 1 dead - Summary

Posted : Sat, 18 Aug 2007 by DPA at earthtimes.org

Pedestrians cross a street during Typhoon Sepat in Taipei August 18, 2007. Strong wind and rains lashed Taiwan as Typhoon Sepat made landfall on Saturday, cutting power supplies to more than 70,000 homes and forcing airlines to delay flights. REUTERS/Nicky Loh

Taipei - Typhoon Sepat crossed Taiwan Saturday on its way to China, killing at least one person, cutting power to tens of thousands of homes and disrupting land and air traffic. Sepat made its landfall at Hualien on the east coast at 5:40 am, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to most of the island.

But with the storm expected to continue for up to one more day, Taiwan cancelled all domestic and most international flights on Saturday. The standard railway and high-speed train system were also stopped for Saturday.

Sepat cut off power to nearly 300,000 homes along the east coast and triggered rockfalls and mudslides in the central mountains, forcing thousands of villagers to relocate.

In worst-hit Hualien county, some 300 residents in 16 villages were evacuated as a mudslide threatened their villages.

Sepat, a Malaysian word referring to a freshwater fish, began to affect Taiwan Friday after skirting the Philippines, where it forced the relocation of nearly 300,000 people.

On Friday, a parcel delivery van plunged 50 metres into a mountain valley in Hualien, killing one man and injuring another.

Also on Friday, an elderly man on Taiwan's offshore Kinmen island was seriously injured after falling from his third-floor balcony.

As the typhoon swooped across Taiwan, it uprooted roadside trees, knocked off shop signboards and shattered some windows.

At lease five people were injured by fallen objects or when they fell from motorbikes on slippery roads.

To prevent injuries, the government has ordered all schools and government offices closed on Saturday.

With heavy rains still falling, Sepat left Taiwan for China's Fujian province at 11:30 am where it is expected to land at 11 pm.

"It has weakened and continues to weaken. It is now travelling at 18 kilometres per hour which is expected to drop to 13kph," the Central Weather Bureau said.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice Premier Hui Liangyu have instructed Fujian to take anti-typhoon measures to minimize losses.

Some 10,000 fishing boats have anchored in Fujian ports, and Xiamen city in the province has cancelled all flights for Saturday, according to the Taiwan press.

Typhoon Sepat hammers Taiwan weather

Taiwan Transport stops

Typhoon Sepat hits Taiwan on way to China, at least 1 dead - Summary

Pedestrians cross a street during Typhoon Sepat in Taipei August 18, 2007. Strong wind and rains lashed Taiwan as Typhoon Sepat made landfall on Saturday, cutting power supplies to more than 70,000 homes and forcing airlines to delay flights. REUTERS/Nicky Loh

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