Typhoon Kong-rey hits the eastern coast of Taiwan, killing 2 people and injuring hundreds

TAIPEI, Taiwan — A powerful typhoon made landfall Taiwan on Thursday, killing two people and bringing strong winds and flooding to much of the island’s eastern coast and northern areas after passing past the northern Philippines.

In Taiwan, flights and rail connections were suspended and 8,600 people were moved to shelters.

Typhoon Kong-rey had winds of 184 kilometers per hour (114 mph), with gusts of up to 227 km/h (141 mph), as it moved over eastern Taitung County. Parts of Yilan and Hualien counties were flooded by heavy rains, but many farmers in largely rural areas had already harvested crops, anticipating damage from the storm.

According to the Taiwan Central Meteorological Administration, winds in Kong-rey had weakened to 144 km/h (89 mph) on Thursday evening and the center of the storm had moved off the main island. It is expected to move northeast and hit the outlying islands of Taiwan.

Taiwanese authorities reported that two people died and 205 were injured as a result of the storm. One fatality occurred when a tree fell on a vehicle. Another person died after a power pole fell, according to Taiwanese police.

Officials also said they were trying to contact a pair of Czech tourists who were hiking in Hualien’s Tarako National Park, famous for its steep cliffs and mountain trails. Other travelers were advised to stay put.

The capital Taipei was largely closed due to strong winds and heavy rain. Offices and schools across the island were closed. A tug was dispatched off the north coast to tow a Chinese-registered freighter that sank and was abandoned by its crew in rough seas.

Earlier on Thursday, the eye of the typhoon was winding about 110 kilometers (68 miles) east of the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes, a cluster of islands and islets with a population of about 19,000. On Wednesday, villagers in the northern provinces of the Philippines evacuated to shelters.

The Philippine weather agency warned that the storm could blow off roofs and shatter windows and cause widespread damage to farmland, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

“It’s so powerful that we haven’t seen the extent of the damage yet because the winds outside are still so strong,” Batanes Gov. Marilou Cayco told The Associated Press by cell phone before the line was cut.

Kong-rey, the 12th weather disturbance to hit the Philippine archipelago this year, hit the Southeast Asian nation still recovering from last week’s storm that left 179 people dead and missing. Hundreds of thousands of people are still in shelters Tropical Storm Trami.

China, which recognizes Taiwan as its own territory and regularly sends planes and warships has largely suspended its patrols around the island, and according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, just eight planes were detected around the island from Wednesday to Thursday.

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AP writer Jim Gomez contributed from Manila, Philippines.