Typhoon Sepat

From Reuters - Photo from Al Jezeera TV

Strong winds and rain lashed Taiwan as Typhoon Sepat made landfall on Saturday, cutting power supplies to more than 70 000 homes and forcing more than 1 000 people to evacuate and airlines to delay flights.

Two cars were crushed by a falling billboard in Taipei, scaffolding collapsed at a building in the outskirts of the city and, in the mountains, workers battled to clear uprooted trees that were blocking roads."We were so busy yesterday because customers were grabbing instant noodles and other things from our shelves to stock up food for the typhoon today," said Alice Wu, a shopkeeper at a convenience store aged in her 20s. "Things are quieter today because everybody is staying indoors. Almost all the shops around here are closed, except for us."

In Taitung, in the south-east of the island, preparations for the onslaught had been under way for days as the storm approached from the sea, swiping the Philippines on the way."In Taitung county, around 10 000 households were out of power, but repairs are already taking place," said an official from Taiwan's disaster centre."We haven't seen reports about landslides. There aren't any casualties so far, except for two people who were injured driving in Taitung in the middle of the bad weather," the official said. Local media said one person had died in the incident, but disaster officials later said the case was considered a road accident and not a storm-related casualty.