Typhoon Podul lashes southern Taiwan, leaving 1 missing, 112 injured

ISTANBUL

One person is missing while at least 112 people were injured as Typhoon Podul lashed southern Taiwan on Wednesday after making landfall on the island’s southeast, according to a Central Emergency Operation Center update.

The storm brought powerful winds and heavy rainfall that disrupted daily life as over 8,000 people were evacuated across eight cities and counties, including Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung, and schools were closed in some areas as the typhoon approaches offshore islands, Focus Taiwan reported.

The missing person was identified as a 28-year-old man who is believed to have gone missing after being swept out to sea in Budai, southern Taiwan while fishing.

The typhoon earlier had halted rail, ferry, and flight operations across much of the region, ahead of its approach.

Over 292,000 households across the country were left without power at one point, with power for nearly 250,000 houses restored later and 42,677 still remaining in the dark.

Heavy rain brought by the typhoon caused flooding in some parts.

According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, the typhoon made landfall around 1 pm (0500GMT).

Podul is expected to continue its trajectory toward the mainland in southern China, and flood control authorities in the Guangdong and Fujian provinces have raised their alert levels, according to China’s state-run Global Times.