Taiwan shuts down ahead of Typhoon Champi, nearly 1,000 flights cancelled

Almost all of Taiwan ​shut down on Friday with the approach of Typhoon Champi, which was already bringing strong winds and torrential rain, and, ‌while weakening, could still make direct landfall on the island.

At one point a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, Champi was still packing gusts of around 191 kph (119 mph) near its centre, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA).

The storm was about 170 km (106 miles) east of Taiwan, the ​CWA said. The storm's forecast track shows it will pass just off northeastern Taiwan late Friday, turn north toward the Chinese ​coast and eventually move into southern Japan.

One person was killed and 163 were injured - a number revised down from ⁠171 - as powerful wind and driving rain hit Taiwan, where the government said 2,639 people had been evacuated from mountainous areas. Taipower said ​more than 77,000 homes had lost power, though electricity had already been restored to most.

CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng told Reuters that landfall could not be ruled out if it "stalls, loops, or wobbles from side to side" on approach to Taiwan.

"The storm's wind radius is quite large, among the bigger ones in recent years," Liu said. "If the storm slows down, the strong winds will affect Taiwan for longer."

Coastal ​towns received mobile phone alerts warning of gusts exceeding 150 kph (93 mph) and urging residents to seek immediate shelter, while nearly a metre (3 ​feet) of rain was forecast for northern mountain areas, including around Taipei.

In the northeastern county of Yilan, where strong winds and heavy showers were intensifying and the ‌typhoon was ⁠forecast to pass close by later on Friday, authorities distributed sandbags and put amphibious vehicles and inflatable rescue boats on standby.