Summary

  • Taiwan is bracing for powerful Typhoon Champi, which is set to make landfall on Friday with gusts of up to 173 kph (107mph) and a 320km radius that will envelope the entire island

  • Taiwanese authorities have urged people to stay away from coasts and mountains, and are evacuating residents on the north-east coast living near a landslide dam at risk of breaching in the storm

  • Scores of flights in Taiwan and neighbouring Japan have been cancelled, affecting thousands of passengers

  • Champi is the latest in a string of intense typhoons as a Super El Niño heats up the Pacific Ocean and fuels storms

Live Reporting

Edited by Gavin Butler, with reporting by Koh Ewe in Singapore

  1. Person died after being swept away by waves - Taiwan authorities

    Now bringing you more details on the typhoon casualties reported in Taiwan.

    According to a press briefing Taiwan's disaster authorities, one person died yesterday after being swept away by waves in Liuqiu, a small coral island southwest of Taiwan's main island.

    The storm has also injured 94 people, according to the fire department. Many of those injuries were from traffic accidents and falls, authorities say.

  2. One dead and dozens injured in Taiwan

    One person has been killed and dozens of others have been injured in Taiwan as Typhoon Champi nears, authorities say.

    More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, according to the government.

  3. An unusually hectic typhoon season

    This is shaping up to be one of the most active typhoon seasons the region has seen in years.

    Champi is Japan's 30th typhoon of the year, making this the first time since 2013 that the country has seen so many storms.

    The typhoon is called Rosal in the Philippines, which follows an alphabetical naming order. That means eight more storms until the end of the alphabet. It's not unheard of - but definitely rare - for the Philippines to exhaust typhoon names from A to Z in a single year.

    The recent frequency of storms is due to an unusually strong El Niño - a naturally occurring phenomenon that hits the Pacific Ocean every few years and can trigger extreme weather events, from droughts to typhoons.

    Scientists are expecting more typhoons to develop this year.

  4. Flights cancelled across Taiwan and Japan

    Scores of flights have been cancelled across East Asia, affecting thousands of passengers, as authorities brace themselves for Champi's arrival.

    In Taiwan, about 125 flights have been cancelled, mostly for domestic flights linking the main island to smaller islands.

    Some railway and ferry services have also been suspended, while national parks and tourist attractions have announced closures ahead of the storm.

    Meanwhile in Japan, major airlines such as Japan Airlines and ANA have cancelled more than 100 flights - also mostly domestic - between Thursday and Sunday. These cancellations are estimated to affect at least 11,000 passengers.

  5. In photos: Region braces for powerful storm

    Typhoon Champi is barrelling towards Taiwan, and is expected to skirt China's eastern coast on its way to Japan over the weekend.

    Many across the region are bracing for the storm's powerful winds and heavy rain to hit.

    A person wearing a dark rain poncho drives a scooter with a passenger through a wet market street after rainfall. Reflections from shop lights shimmer on the rain-slicked pavement, while a brightly lit street-food stall covered with clear plastic sheeting stands in the center of the scene.Reuters

    Taipei city saw a rainy Thursday as Typhoon Champi approached the island

    Aerial view of a crowded fishing harbor filled with hundreds of fishing vessels moored in groups across a broad inletGetty Images

    Fleeing the impending storm, fishing boats dock at Ruoshan Fishing Port in China's Zhejiang Province

    A sandy beach path opens onto a rough turquoise sea under dark, storm-laden clouds. White sandbags have been stacked across the beach entrance and along the edge of the path, forming a low temporary barrier against incoming wavesReuters

    On Japan's Ishigaki Island, sandbags have been lined on a beach as a barrier against strong waves

  6. Stay away from coasts and mountains, Taiwan's premier warns

    Taiwanese authorities issued urgent safety warnings on Thursday ahead of Typhoon Champi's landfall.

    Following an emergency briefing, Premier Cho Jung-Tai urged the public to avoid all high-risk zones.

    "After it makes landfall, it will envelop the entire Taiwan. It will slowly leave Taiwan on the 24th and the 25th," Central Weather Administration (CWA) head Lu Kuo-chen said at a news conference, adding that winds would be strongest from Friday through Saturday.

    National Fire Agency Chief Secretary Cheng Chih Chiang had asked the local governing body of the eastern coast of Taiwan to evacuate residents living downstream from the Wanli Creek landslide dam in Hualien.

    The dam was holding five million metric tons of water as of Thursday morning, according to Premier Cho, and there is the risk it could breach in the storm.

    Cheng urged the public to stay away from mountainous areas, creeks and beaches even after Champi leaves Taiwan.

  7. Typhoon Champi making landfall on Taiwan today

    Typhoon Champi's outer rainbands are bearing down on Taiwan this morning, with torrential downpours and fierce wind gusts predicted to hit the island.

    The storm's 320-kilometre radius will cover most of Taiwan today, according to the Central Weather Administration.

    The peak impact will last through the night before Typhoon Champi pulls away towards southern Japan late Saturday.

    Severe weather warnings are in place across Taiwan. Mountainous regions of northern and northeastern Taiwan face up to 900mm (35 inches) of rainfall, along with wind gusts reaching up to level 12, the highest on the Beaufort scale, according to Taiwanese reports.

  8. Powerful typhoon barrels towards Taiwan

    Welcome to our coverage of Typhoon Champi, a powerful tropical cyclone that is due to hit Taiwan and Japan.

    In recent days several places in the East Asia region have been bracing themselves for one of the strongest storms of the year.

    The typhoon is expected to pass by Taiwan and the Okinawa islands of Japan today, before heading northwards towards eastern China and the South Korean island of Jeju over the weekend.

    Stick with us as we bring you the latest.