At least 2 dead, 69 injured as typhoon hits Taiwan

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING (AA) – At least two people were confirmed dead and 69 others injured as a powerful typhoon swept across Taiwan after making landfall Friday.

The official Central News Agency cited government figures as saying that the fatalities included a soldier who had been fishing in the offshore northern county of Lienchiang and a man who drowned near a popular beach in eastern Hualien.

A total of 69 people were injured in southeastern Taitung country, where two hospitals activated emergency measures to treat those who sustained injuries --mostly to their head and limbs.

Taitung’s fire department urged residents to remain indoors, and recorded more than 300 reports of fallen trees and signboards.

The central weather bureau said strong winds and heavy rainfall from Typhoon Nepartak are forecast to continue in Taiwan until night as the storm moves toward southern China.