Taipei - Typhoon Sepat crossed Taiwan Saturday on its way to China, killing at least one person, cutting power to tens of thousands of homes and disrupting land and air traffic. Sepat made its landfall at Hualien on the east coast at 5:40 am, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to most of the island.
But with the storm expected to continue for up to one more day, Taiwan cancelled all domestic and most international flights on Saturday. The standard railway and high-speed train system were also stopped for Saturday.
Sepat cut off power to nearly 300,000 homes along the east coast and triggered rockfalls and mudslides in the central mountains, forcing thousands of villagers to relocate.
In worst-hit Hualien county, some 300 residents in 16 villages were evacuated as a mudslide threatened their villages.
Sepat, a Malaysian word referring to a freshwater fish, began to affect Taiwan Friday after skirting the Philippines, where it forced the relocation of nearly 300,000 people.
On Friday, a parcel delivery van plunged 50 metres into a mountain valley in Hualien, killing one man and injuring another.
Also on Friday, an elderly man on Taiwan's offshore Kinmen island was seriously injured after falling from his third-floor balcony.
As the typhoon swooped across Taiwan, it uprooted roadside trees, knocked off shop signboards and shattered some windows.
At lease five people were injured by fallen objects or when they fell from motorbikes on slippery roads.
To prevent injuries, the government has ordered all schools and government offices closed on Saturday.
With heavy rains still falling, Sepat left Taiwan for China's Fujian province at 11:30 am where it is expected to land at 11 pm.
"It has weakened and continues to weaken. It is now travelling at 18 kilometres per hour which is expected to drop to 13kph," the Central Weather Bureau said.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice Premier Hui Liangyu have instructed Fujian to take anti-typhoon measures to minimize losses.
Some 10,000 fishing boats have anchored in Fujian ports, and Xiamen city in the province has cancelled all flights for Saturday, according to the Taiwan press.
