931 Flights Canceled Across Taiwan as Champi Winds Reach 155 km/h

Taiwan grounded all flights on Friday as Typhoon Champi passed near the island.

The Transport Ministry said 262 domestic flights and 669 international flights were canceled. Schools and offices shut across the territory. High-speed rail along the west coast kept running, and Taipei's subway stayed open with light showers and gusty winds.

Champi packed sustained winds of 298 km/h earlier this week and has weakened to 155 km/h as it approached from the southeast. Forecasts keep its center offshore as it clears the island's northeastern tip, then turns north toward Japan's southwestern islands. Its radius measures about 320 km, enough to cover most of Taiwan.

One person died Thursday after waves swept them away in Liuqiu, an island off the southeastern coast, the fire department said. Ninety-four people were injured. The government said more than 2,600 residents left vulnerable mountainous areas. The Central Weather Administration told coastal residents to stay indoors, skip driving and watch for falling objects.

In southwestern Japan, a woman in her 70s broke a leg in the wind on Miyako island, the Okinawa prefecture government said. Power went out at nearly 2,000 homes on Ishigaki. Dozens of flights serving Miyako, Ishigaki and Okinawa were canceled.

The coast guard barred ships and ferries from sailing Friday off northern Philippine towns and cities. Basco airport in Batanes province closed and two local flights were canceled; windows were boarded up. In Cagayan province, nearly 200 people moved to safer ground, including almost 100 in government shelters, and classes stopped in the island town of Calayan. Earlier this month Champi crossed Pacific islands including Guam, where a federal disaster area was declared.