Typhoon hits Taiwan; four dead, one missing

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Typhoon Soudelor lashed Taiwan today, downing trees, traffic lights and power lines, and leaving at least four dead, one missing and dozens injured.

The typhoon brought strong winds and heavy rainfall as it made landfall early today and was expected to move into the Taiwan Strait and onto mainland China later in the day.

A total of 27 people have been injured and almost 2 million households were without electricity as the powerful storm left streets strewn with fallen trees, the government’s Central News Agency reported.

An 8-year-girl and her mother died when they were swept out to sea Thursday from a beach on the east coast, the agency said. The girl’s twin sister remains missing.

Other casualties included a firefighter who was killed and another injured after being hit by a drunken driver as they attempted to move a fallen tree in the island’s south, the news agency said.

Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau said that by mid-morning today, the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour and was moving at a speed of 12 mph in a northwesterly direction in Yunlin county on the west coast. It warned that mountain areas should be on alert for landslides and low-lying areas for flooding.

Authorities in southeast China ordered the evacuation of about 158,000 people and ships back to port ahead of the typhoon, which was expected to hit the Fujian province today.