Typhoon Kong-rey hits Taiwan’s east coast, leaving two dead and hundreds injured

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A powerful typhoon made landfall Taiwan Two people were killed and heavy winds and flooding hit much of the island’s east coast and northern areas on Thursday after it swept past the northern Philippines.

Flights and train services in Taiwan were suspended and 8,600 people were moved to shelters.

Typhoon Kong-rey was blowing at 184 kilometers per hour (114 miles per hour) with gusts of up to 227 km per hour (141 mph) as it passed over eastern Taitung province. Parts of Yilan and Hualien provinces were flooded by heavy rains, but many farmers in the largely rural areas had already brought in their crops in anticipation of the storm’s damage.

According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, Kong-rey’s winds weakened to 144 km per hour (89 mph) as of Thursday evening, and the center of the storm moved away from the main island. It is expected to move northeastward and affect Taiwan’s outlying islands.

Taiwanese authorities reported two deaths and 205 injuries as a result of the storm on Thursday afternoon. One of the deaths occurred when a tree fell on a vehicle. According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, Taipei police reported that another person was killed when a power pole fell.

Officials also said they were trying to contact a few Czech tourists who had hiked in Tarako National Park in Hualien, famous for its steep cliffs and mountain trails. Other travelers were advised to stay where they were.

The capital Taipei was largely closed due to strong winds and heavy rain. Offices and schools across the island were closed. Off the northern coast, a tugboat was dispatched to tow a Chinese-registered cargo ship that had become stranded and abandoned by its crew amid heavy seas.

Earlier Thursday, the eye of the typhoon blew about 110 kilometers (68 miles) east of the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes, a cluster of islands and islets with a population of about 19,000. Villagers in the northern Philippine provinces were evacuated to shelters on Wednesday.

The Philippine Weather Bureau had warned that the storm could blow away roofs, shatter windows and wreak havoc on farmland, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

“It’s so strong and we haven’t seen the extent of the damage yet because the wind outside is still so strong,” Batanes Governor Marilou Cayco told The Associated Press by phone before the line was shut down.

Kong-rey, the twelfth weather disturbance to hit the Philippine archipelago this year, has battered the Southeast Asian country as it continues to recover from a storm last week that left 179 dead and missing. Hundreds of thousands of people are still in emergency shelters Tropical Storm Trami.

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, and regularly sends aircraft and warships around the island has largely suspended patrols, with only eight aircraft detected around the island between Wednesday and Thursday, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense.

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AP writer Jim Gomez contributed from Manila, Philippines.