Typhoon Dujuan: 3 Dead, More Than 350 Injured in Taiwan; Nearly 750,000 Homes Without Power

Sean Breslin
Published: September 29,2015



 

Three people died in Taiwan when Typhoon Dujuan slammed the island nation before moving west into mainland China.
Taiwan's Central Disaster Emergency Operation Center also reported 376 injuries in the island nation from Dujuan.
More than 12,000 people have been evacuated to safety, according to the government report. Some 370,000 households are without running water. According to the Taiwan Power Company, 1.8 million households lost power at some point during the storm, with 710,000 people remaining in the dark.
(MORE: Check the Forecast for Dujuan)

The storm comes at a time when thousands were expected to watch the skies for Taiwan's Moon Festival. Officials warned residents that the supermoon would lead to even higher tides as the storm pushed large amounts of water into the island's eastern and northern coastline, the Taipei Times said. For most of the island, schools were closed again on Tuesday.
Typhoon Dujuan forced nearly 3,000 people to evacuate the country's outlying islands on Sunday, according to the French Press Agency (AFP). Additional ferry trips were ordered to and from Green and Orchid islands as officials worked to remove residents and tourists from the two small islands east of Taiwan, the report added. Another 4,000 people near Taipei were moved Monday as the storm drew close, AFP also reported.
The Central Weather Bureau also urged residents to stay out of the water during the holiday, according to the country's Central News Agency.
In China, boats returned to harbor Monday as the storm hammered coastal cities like Putian, Xinhua reported. Virtually all forms of travel were halted along the coast, and schools were canceled Tuesday, the report added.
(MORE: 10 Stunning Images of Dujuan)
Japan's southernmost islands were also affected by Dujuan. More than 3,200 homes lost power on Ishigaki Island and elsewhere, local media told AFP.
About 100 domestic flights were canceled in Japan as winds gusted as high as 181 mph on the island of Yonagunijima, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. NHK says 10 homes have been destroyed on the island and another 200 structures sustained damage.
According to the Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper, there have yet to be any confirmed injuries on the island.
Dujuan's damaging impacts come just one month after Typhoon Soudelor dumped more than 50 inches of rain in parts of Taiwan. The storm killed at least eight people in Taiwan and 26 in China. At its peak intensity, Soudelor became the strongest storm on the planet in 2015.
"To be honest, we all feel very depressed. Any damage may further prolong the time needed for reconstruction," Chou Chih-kang, a Wulai neighborhood chief, told (AFP).