A typhoon killed two people and injured more than 300 as it tore across Taiwan overnight.
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The delays extended to Tuesday even after the Central Weather Bureau (中央氣象局) lifted its land warning on the typhoon for Taiwan proper at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Nearly 3,000 people were evacuated on Sunday from Taiwan’s Green Island and Orchid Island popular with visitors. Typhoon Dujuan made landfall in southeastern Fujian province Tuesday morning, packing maximum wind speeds of 119 kilometers per hour (74 mph) near its center, before weakening into a tropical storm, according to the National Meteorological Center.
Several domestic and global flights and trains were suspended as the storm approached. Severe winds have uprooted trees, smashed windows and triggered landslides.
Authorities have warned there is still a risk of mudslides and high waves in coastal areas. And Taiwan’s weather bureau has since downgraded the typhoon from “super” to “moderate”, as “it’s expected… to weaken and its radius to keep shrinking.” Schools and offices in Taiwan remain shut on Tuesday and the stock market is also closed.
Dujuan struck Taiwan as the equivalent of a Category 4 storm (on the five point Saffir-Simpson scale).The highest gust recorded on the island was 246km/h, 30km south of Yilan City.
Mid-Autumn Festival holidaymakers got a dampener after 90 flights were canceled or delayed between Hong Kong and Taiwan, which was pounded by super typhoon Dujuan. Heavy rain and gales are set to hit parts of Fujian, Zhejiang and Shanghai.
The storm forced United States rock band Bon Jovi to cancel their gig in Taipei for a second night.
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In August, the Soudelor typhoon left at least eight dead in Taiwan and 21 in China.
