Typhoon Podul hits Taiwan

TYPHOON Podul slammed into southeastern Taiwan yesterday, with powerful winds and heavy rain lashing the island.

- 

The typhoon had wind gusts of 191km per hour as it made landfall in Taitung County at around Ipm, the Central Weather Administration said.

Podul was expected to sweep across the island and into the Taiwan Strait late yesterday, battering central and southern areas still recovering from storms last month.

More than 5 500 people living in the typhoon’s path have been evacuated from their homes, while fishermen have secured their boats.

“We are worried about this typhoon,’ Kaohsiung fisherman Huang Wei said as he used more ropes to tie down his boat and checked on other vessels hours ahead of Podul making landfall.