Typhoon Meranti leaves 1 dead, 51 injured in Taiwan

Trees along a road from Pingdong to Kenting are blown away by strong winds as Typhoon Meranti hits southern Taiwan on Wednesday. [Photo/Xinhua]

TAIPEI - One person was killed and 51 others were injured since Wednesday as Typhoon Meranti has traveled across southern Taiwan, according to local authorities on Thursday.

A 58-year-old fisherman was swept off by the sea Wednesday and was found dead early Thursday in Kaohsiung city in the south of the island, according to local authorities.

Packing strong winds and heavy rain, the typhoon cut off power to 1.01 million homes, according to Taiwan Power Company, which added that at least 331,000 households were still without power as of 12:58 pm Thursday.

The island's Emergency Operation Center said the typhoon had resulted in estimated economic losses of about 100 million new Taiwan dollars (about $3.15 million) in the agricultural sector.

Typhoon Meranti, the strongest this year, was packing winds of up to 209 km per hour as it neared the island on Wednesday, the meteorological agency said.

More than 710,000 homes suffered water shortages due to the typhoon, which also forced local schools and businesses to close. Also on Wednesday, more than 230 flights on the island were canceled, and 168 flights were rescheduled to or from Taiwan.

The typhoon also paralysed water transportation and disrupted train services in the east and south of the island on Wednesday, according to local authorities.

In addition to closed roads, about 160 flight routes and 14 shipping lanes were still closed around noon Thursday, putting great pressure on the island's transportation system as Thursday was the first day of the four-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

As the typhoon moved away from the island, Taiwan's meteorological agency lifted a land and sea warning issued Wednesday for the typhoon, which affected 13 counties and cities in southern and eastern parts of the island, including Kaohsiung, Taitung and Hualien.

Typhoon Meranti arrived in Taiwan around two months after the fatal Typhoon Nepartak left three people dead and injured about 300 others on the island, in addition to cutting power and grounding flights.