Typhoon Jangmi lashes Taiwan with strong winds, heavy rains
Taipei - Typhoon Jangmi lashed Taiwan with powerful winds and torrential rains Sunday, forcing a standstill in domestic air traffic and some railway services.
The typhoon packed center winds of up to 184 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 227 kilometres per hour, making landfall in the north-eastern county of Ilan in the afternoon, the Central Weather Bureau said.
The bureau said the typhoon was expected to dump up to 1,400 millimetres of rain on the island.
Local authorities moved more than 1,000 residents after the Council of Agriculture issued a warning for 247 areas likely to be threatened by mud- and rock-slides, officials said.
All international flights were cancelled or postponed from late afternoon, and passengers were advised to check with various airlines before going to the airport, officials said.
The government ordered local transport units to stand by to prepare to close 13 bridges with possibility of collapsing in the face of rushing waters.
Typhoon Sinlaku two weeks ago caused a section of a bridge to collapse. Except for one driver whose body was retrieved, authorities have yet to find five other people missing after their vehicles plunged into the river. Sinlaku also left Taiwan with 14 deaths and seven missing.
Jangmi is the sixth and strongest typhoon to Taiwan this season. President Ma Ying-jeou Sunday instructed all government units to be on high alert to reduce any possible damage and casualties. (dpa)