Typhoon Champi Brushes Taiwan, Closing Schools and Offices and Cancelling 931 Flights

Taiwan shut down schools and offices and grounded hundreds of flights as Typhoon Champi brushed by the island on Friday, bringing strong winds and torrential rain. Champi peaked at maximum sustained winds of 298 kph (185 mph) earlier in the week but had weakened to 155 kph (96 mph) as it approached Taiwan from the southwest. Its center is forecast to stay offshore as it passes the island's northeastern tip before turning north toward Japan's southwestern islands. Taiwan's Central Weather Administration urged coastal residents to avoid outdoor activities and driving.

The transport ministry said all 262 domestic flights and 669 international flights were cancelled, while high-speed rail services on the western coast ran normally. One person was killed on Thursday after being swept away by waves in Liuqiu, a small island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan's main island, according to the fire department. The government said almost 1,300 people were evacuated from vulnerable mountainous areas, and it also reported that more than ninety others were hurt in the storm.

In southwestern Japan, the typhoon injured one person, grounded flights and knocked out power. A woman in her 70s broke a leg in the wind on Miyako island, according to the Okinawa prefecture government, and nearly 2,000 homes lost electricity on Ishigaki island. Dozens of flights to and from Miyako, Ishigaki and Okinawa were cancelled.

In the Philippines, the coast guard barred ships and ferries from the rough waters off several northern towns and cities on Friday. The main domestic airport in Basco, the capital of Batanes province, was shut down and two local flights were cancelled. In Cagayan province, nearly 200 people evacuated as a precaution, including nearly 100 who moved to government-run emergency shelters, and classes at all levels were suspended in the island town of Calayan. Earlier this month Champi passed several Pacific islands, including Guam, where a federal disaster area was declared.

The Taiwan cancellations show how a typhoon does not need to make landfall to stop air operations. With the center forecast to stay offshore, the island still lost every scheduled domestic and international movement for the day, while the western high-speed rail line kept running. For a segment that depends on slots, crew duty limits and aircraft positioning, a full-day closure of this kind pushes repositioning and rebooking work into the following days.

The storm's path matters beyond Taiwan. The forecast turn north toward Japan's southwestern islands means the same weather system that disrupted flying at Miyako, Ishigaki and Okinawa and shut the Basco airport in the Philippines is still moving through the region's air corridors. Operators with trips touching Okinawa or the Japanese southwestern islands are the next group exposed to that track.

The next milestone is the typhoon's turn toward Japan's southwestern islands, which will decide where further flight cancellations and power outages fall once Taiwan's weather clears.