A typhoon, declared the strongest storm of the year so far, has killed one person and injured 527 more in Taiwan.
Typhoon Champi clipped Taiwan’s east coast, before turning south along the coastline of Yilan County and then moving northward offshore, according to multiple outlets. The storm began battering the island starting late on Thursday, with gusts of up to 141 mph, before the storm began to move off on Saturday.
In addition to the number of recorded dead and injured, the two straight days of rain and high winds brought widespread power outages. At one point, at least 288,000 households lost power. Most have since had power restored.
Taiwan’s main international airport in Taoyuan canceled 563 flights on Friday, and another 261 flights on Saturday.
The typhoon has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, and, as of Monday, is moving towards Japan’s southwestern mainland. Officials expect the storm to continue to weaken.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the typhoon began as a super typhoon last week, with sustained winds of up to 185 mph and gusts of up to 200 mph. NASA stated that the storm reached Category 5 multiple times, and that it officially became the year’s strongest storm so far on Oct. 21. The agency forecasted the storm to be a Category 2 or 3 by the time it hit Taiwan’s coastline.
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