KAOHSIUNG: Typhoon Podul pounded Taiwan on Wednesday, shutting down businesses, grounding flights and knocking out power for tens of thousands of households, while parts of mainland China made ready for the storm. Wind gusts of up to 178 kilometres per hour were recorded shortly before the typhoon made landfall in Taitung County in southeastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
One person was missing after he went fishing and was swept away, and 33 have been injured, the National Fire Agency said. More than 7,300 people have been evacuated from their homes, with trees and signs toppled as the storm swept across central and southern regions still recovering from storms last month.
"We are worried about this typhoon," Kaohsiung fisherman Huang Wei said as he tied down his boat with extra ropes hours ahead of Podul making landfall. "We had already made general typhoon preparations yesterday, but this morning I woke up and saw news reports that the typhoon has intensified to be as strong as the last, (Typhoon) Krathon," Huang said. — AFP
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