Typhoon Champi hits Taiwan, killing one and injuring 350

As authorities cautioned of "destructive winds" and instructed residents to stay indoors, typhoon Champi has struck Taiwan, killing one person and injuring at least 350 others.

Key points

• Regarding 8, 400 households in Japan's Okinawa islands were without power on Friday afternoon, according to the Okinawa Electric Power Business.
• Champi could drop up to 900mm (35 inches) of rain between Thursday and Saturday, with the northeast hit hardest, the CWA remarked.
• Champi was briefly a super typhoon with winds of almost 300 kilometres per hour (186 miles per hour) but has since weakened.
• "From tonight through tomorrow morning conditions will be very windy and stormy everywhere, " Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lin Ping-yu remarked in a briefing.
• The United Nations remarked on Wednesday that El Nino, a natural cycle that warms the tropical Pacific, is heading off the charts.

Meanwhile, the storm swept past the island's northeast on Friday, toppling trees, shutting shops and schools, cutting power to thousands of households, and forcing more than 4, 300 individuals to evacuate from their homes.

Champi is heading towards China and Japan, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights in the region.

"From tonight through tomorrow morning conditions will be very windy and stormy everywhere, " Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lin Ping-yu remarked in a briefing. "Please try to stay indoors."

Champi was briefly a super typhoon with winds of almost 300 kilometres per hour (186 miles per hour) but has since weakened. The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center documented maximum winds of 185km/h (115mph).

Worse is still projected to come on Saturday. Champi could drop up to 900mm (35 inches) of rain between Thursday and Saturday, with the northeast hit hardest, the CWA remarked. More than 400mm fell in Yilan County on Friday.

CWA forecaster Lu Kuo-chen remarked the typhoon could slow near the island's northeastern tip, prolonging its impact.

Regarding 8, 400 households in Japan's Okinawa islands were without power on Friday afternoon, according to the Okinawa Electric Power Business. Champi is forecast to hover near Okinawa and then China's eastern coast before turning northeast towards mainland Japan.

Champi is the latest storm in a Pacific season supercharged by El Nino.

For context, the United Nations remarked on Wednesday that El Nino, a natural cycle that warms the tropical Pacific, is heading off the charts.

"The current El Nino event could be unprecedented in strength. Literally off the monitoring charts that we have applied for the past four decades, " stated Celeste Saulo, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization.

It is projected to peak in December, with its impact lasting into 2027 and beyond.

In short, typhoon Champi hits Taiwan, killing one and injuring 350 is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.