Typhoon hits Taiwan; four dead, one missing

The missing girl’s twin sister and mother died after the three of them and another girl who survived were swept away by strong waves at Suao Township’s Neipi beach.

The slightly weaker but still-dangerous typhoon was threatening mainland China Saturday evening.

Traffic lights and power lines were down in many parts of the island.

After making landfall on the east coast within the early hours of Saturday morning, it swept throughout central Taiwan ripping up timber, snapping wind generators and triggering a landslide in a single distant village within the northern area of Taoyuan.

Millions of homes and businesses have been left without electricity as a result of the storm.

A street corner is filled with a mangled rooftop brought down by strong winds from Typhoon Soudelor in Taipei, Taiwan, Saturday.

At least 27 people were injured.

Taipingshan, in Yilan County on the island’s northeast side, got 46 inches of rain in less than 36 hours, the Central Weather Bureau reported about 9 a.m. Saturday. All 279 domestic flights on the island were canceled Saturday, as well as at least 37 worldwide flights.

Authorities began evacuating people as the storm approached and the island’s military put tens of thousands of troops and thousands of vehicles on stand-by for rescue operations.

In the capital, Taipei, large steel sheets and rods were blown off a half-constructed stadium and city authorities shut down some bus and subway services.

The defense ministry had readied 100 shelters that could accommodate more than 45,000 people while around 35,000 soldiers were on standby for disaster relief.

The storm also prompted evacuations in mainland China, where it is expected to hit next.

Residents in central and southern Taiwan and mountainous areas have been warned of increasing winds and rainfall due to southwestern winds brought in by Soudelor.

Taiwan’s weather bureau says the typhoon is moving north-west, gradually losing its strength.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday that Fujian Province in eastern China has issued its highest typhoon alert as Soudelor approaches the country’s southeastern provinces.