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Heavy rains and flooding injured at least 51 people as of
Wednesday morning, according to the National Fire Agency.
Authorities evacuated 8,326 people, the majority from the
eastern Hualien County, where a typhoon in September left 18
dead.
An overflowing creek flooded a village in Hualien on Tuesday.
Images carried by local media showed a car being swept away by
floodwater.
Schools and offices were closed in central and southern parts of
Taiwan including the coastal cities of Kaohsiung, Taichung and
Tainan as well as Pingtung, Chiayi and Miaoli counties. The
capital, Taipei, in the island’s north, operated as usual.
As of Wednesday morning, Fung-wong was about 140 kilometers (87
miles) southwest of Taiwan in the South China Sea, moving
northeast at 16 kph (10 mph). It was expected to make landfall
during the afternoon or evening and graze the southern part of
the island before exiting from its southeastern side.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 65 kph (40 mph) and
higher gusts.
Authorities warned residents around the island to avoid going to
the beach, where waves were expected to rise to about 3 to 5
meters (about 10 to 16 feet). Signboards, fences and flowerpots
were to be secured in anticipation of strong winds.
In the Philippines, more than 623,300 people remained in
evacuation centers Wednesday, according to the Office of Civil
Defense.
Several of the deaths in the Philippines occurred in landslides
in the Cordillera, a six-province mountainous region popular
among backpackers and vacationers for its pine tree-dotted
towns, cool breezes, strawberry fields and mountainside rice
terraces.
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Associated Press journalist Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines,
contributed to this report.
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