Taiwan orders near-total shutdown as Typhoon Champi approaches

Taiwan ordered a near-total shutdown for Friday as Typhoon Champi approached the island, Anadolu Agency reported.

Work and classes will be suspended for the full day in 20 of Taiwan’s 22 counties and cities. Airlines have canceled domestic flights as well as 40 international flights, according to local broadcaster TVBS.

Kinmen County, an offshore island group near China’s Fujian coast, and most of Taitung County in southeastern Taiwan will operate normally on Friday because they are outside the typhoon’s main impact zone.

Champi, which has been downgraded to a moderate typhoon, is expected to pass closest to Taiwan at around 2 a.m. on Saturday (1800 GMT on Friday). Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration has not ruled out a landfall.

The administration warned that the storm’s strongest impacts would be felt from Friday through Saturday morning, with conditions expected to improve on Saturday afternoon.

As of Thursday evening, Champi was about 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Taiwan’s southernmost point, Eluanbi, moving northwest at 18 kilometres per hour (11 miles per hour).

Heavy rain advisories were also issued for several areas, with rainfall expected to intensify from Thursday evening through Saturday morning.