Typhoon Champi: Taiwan grounds 931 flights as storm weakens

Typhoon Champi forced the suspension of daily life across Taiwan on Friday, grounding nearly a thousand flights and closing public schools. The storm brought strong winds and heavy rain to the island as it moved from the southeast.

The disruption centered on air travel. The Transport Ministry cancelled all 262 domestic flights and 669 international flights. While high-speed rail along the western coast continued operating, the airways remained shut down.

The storm's intensity has decreased since earlier in the week. Champi reached maximum sustained winds of 298 kilometres per hour before weakening to 155 kilometres per hour. The system now has a radius of about 320 kilometres, a span wide enough to cover most of Taiwan.

The weather event caused casualties and forced evacuations. One person died on Thursday after waves swept them away in Liuqiu, a small island off the southeastern coast. Ninety-four others were injured. The government reported that more than 2,600 people left vulnerable mountainous areas.

The impact extended beyond Taiwan. In southwestern Japan, the typhoon injured a woman in her 70s on Miyako island and cut power to nearly 2,000 homes on Ishigaki island. Dozens of flights to and from the region were also cancelled.

The Philippines felt the storm's reach on Friday. The coast guard barred ships and ferries from sailing in rough waters off northern towns. The main domestic airport in Basco, the capital of Batanes province, closed and cancelled two local flights. Provincial officials suspended classes in the island town of Calayan, and nearly 200 people moved to safer ground.

Taipei, the capital, experienced only light showers and gusty winds. The subway and other transport services in the city remained open. Experts expect the storm's greatest impact on Taiwan to last through Saturday, with the system reaching Japan's southern mainland on Monday.