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<\/p>\nTyphoon Podul hit Taiwan\u2019s sparsely populated southeast coast on Wednesday packing winds of up to 191 kph (118 mph), as a large swathe of southern and eastern parts of the island shut down and hundreds of flights were canceled.<\/p>\n
Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons, generally along its mountainous east coast facing the Pacific.<\/p>\n
Podul slammed into the southeastern city of Taitung around 1 p.m. (0500GMT), Taiwan\u2019s Central Weather Administration said.<\/p>\n
Read more: Typhoon Podul Set to Strengthen Before Hitting Southern Taiwan<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cDestructive winds from typhoon expected. Take shelter ASAP,\u201d read a text message alert issued to cellphone users in parts of Taitung early on Wednesday. The alert warned people of gusts above 150 kph (93 mph) in the coming hours.<\/p>\n Nine cities and counties announced the suspension of work and school for Wednesday, including the southern metropolises of Kaohsiung and Tainan. In the capital Taipei, home to Taiwan\u2019s financial markets, there were blustery winds but no impact.<\/p>\n Authorities are also working to evacuate those whose homes were damaged by a July typhoon that brought record winds and damaged the electricity grid in a rare direct hit to Taiwan\u2019s west coast.<\/p>\n The government said more than 5,500 people had been evacuated ahead of the typhoon\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n All domestic flights were canceled on Wednesday \u2013 252 in total \u2013 while 129 international ones were axed too, the transport ministry said.<\/p>\n Taiwan\u2019s two main international carriers China Airlines and EVA Air said their cancellations were focused on routes out of Kaohsiung, with some flights from the island\u2019s main international airport at Taoyuan stopped as well.<\/p>\n After making landfall, the storm is expected to hit Taiwan\u2019s much more densely populated western coast before heading for China\u2019s southern province of Fujian later this week. <\/p>\n As much as 600 mm (24 inches) of rain was forecast in southern mountainous areas over the next few days, the Central Weather Administration said.<\/p>\n More than a year\u2019s rainfall fell in a single week this month in some southern areas, unleashing widespread landslides and flooding, with four deaths.<\/p>\n (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; editing by Michael Perry)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Topics<\/span> Catastrophe<\/a> Natural Disasters<\/a> Aviation<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/typhoon-podul-heads-to-taiwan-reuters-580x515.png\")
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