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Typhoon Megi leaves 1 dead, 70 injured

Typhoon Megi slams into Taitung County Tuesday.

Typhoon Megi leaves 1 dead, 70 injured

Typhoon Megi slams into Taitung County Tuesday.

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Typhoon Megi left one person dead and 70 injured in Taiwan, according to preliminary figures released by emergency centers early Tuesday evening, while the storm was still raging across the island.
The person who died was the driver of a van who was involved in a head-on collision with an SUV in Pingtung County, the authorities said. He died after arriving at hospital, reports said.
The 70 injured included three Japanese tourists whose tour bus overturned on a road in Changhua County when hit by a strong gust of wind. The 26 other Japanese travelers on board were not seriously hurt and returned to their hotel to recover from the ordeal, reports said.
In Miaoli, a regular bus service was blown sideways against a public works vehicle involved in road repairs. A total of 19 passengers were injured in the incident, reports said.
More than 45,000 homes across Taiwan were without water and an estimated 2.7 million had lost electricity, the third-highest figure for a typhoon. In some instances, repair work might last until Wednesday evening before power was fully restored, reports said.
The island of Kinmen and several mountainous villages in Taitung County announced early Tuesday evening that schools and offices in their areas would remain closed on Wednesday.
Since the threat of landslides in the mountains was severe, military personnel were sent in to help evacuate residents to safer areas. In Greater Kaohsiung, at least 4,000 residents were forced to leave home, reports said.
By 5 p.m. Tuesday, the eye of the storm had advanced to 50 kilometers from Taichung on its course across central Taiwan from east to west. It was moving at a speed of 15 km per hour and was expected to leave the main island during the night, even though its impact would keep being felt well into Wednesday, forecasters said.