Typhoon Megi kills 4, leaves 2.9M homes without power in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Typhoon Megi struck Taiwan on the northeastern coast Tuesday, killing at least four people, injuring at least 375 and leaving nearly 2.9 million homes without power.

In its latest update, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said Typhoon Megi was moving northwest at 9 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph, with gusts reaching 112 mph. The typhoon was heading toward mainland China.

Megi made landfall at Hualien City in eastern Taiwan about 2 p.m., according to the weather bureau. Injury and damage reports were still coming in to Taiwan's emergency command center Tuesday night.

Taiwan's sole electricity supplier, the Taiwan Power Company, said more than 2.89 million homes were without power Tuesday night -- the second highest power outage in Taiwan's history after the 4.5 million left without electricity by Typhoon Soudelor in 2015, Focus Taiwan reports. Power has been restored to nearly 1 million homes after emergency repairs, but full restoration was not expected until Wednesday evening.

Drinking water to 50,000 households in Taipei and New Taipei also was threatened.

Transportation in Taiwan, including air travel and trains, has largely been shut down with the exception of some commuter trains.

Typhoon Megi is the third typhoon to affect Taiwan in September, following Typhoon Meranti and Typhoon Malakas. The Central Weather Bureau forecast Typhoon Megi to weaken to a tropical depression by Thursday.