Typhoon Danas lashes southern Taiwan with record winds, injuring hundreds

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TAIPEI - Typhoon Danas lashed southern Taiwan with record winds and strong rain early on July 7, killing two people and injuring more than 330 in a rare hit to the island’s densely populated west coast, where businesses and schools were shut.

Taiwan is regularly struck by typhoons but they generally land along the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast facing the Pacific.

Typhoon Danas – at one point listed by Taiwan’s weather authority to be at the second-strongest level – headed north towards the Taiwan Strait after making landfall along its south-western coast late on July 6.

It has greatly weakened since and was forecast to hit eastern China later this week.

“The typhoon track is rare... the whole of Taiwan will be affected by the wind and rain one after another,” Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said in a post on Facebook, urging citizens to make preparations.

Power to more than half a million homes was cut, and over 300 domestic and international flights were cancelled, government data showed. The north-south high-speed rail line scaled back services.

The National Fire Agency said one person was killed by a falling tree while driving, and another died after the person’s respirator malfunctioned due to a power cut.

Record winds of around 220kmh were recorded in the south-western county of Yunlin, while more than 700 trees and street signs were blown over across western cities and towns, government data showed.

There was no major report of damage at Tainan Science Park, which houses tech giants such as TSMC. REUTERS