Taiwan issued a land warning on Thursday ahead of the arrival of powerful Typhoon Champi and cancelled more than 100 flights, with the storm expected to brush past the island's northeastern coast and gradually weaken on approach, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

At one point a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, Champi had weakened slightly by Thursday but was still packing gusts of more than 227 kph (141 mph) near its centre, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA). The storm was about 520 km (320 miles) southeast of Taiwan's southern tip.

125flights cancelled in Taiwan
227 kphgusts near Champi's centre
320 kmstorm radius — covers most of Taiwan
6 metreswaves warned for coastal towns

Rain near one metre expected in the north

The CWA said the typhoon's radius had expanded slightly to 320 km, large enough to cover most of Taiwan, and weather experts said its impact could last nearly two days. Mobile phone alerts warning of waves of more than 6 metres were issued to coastal towns, while total rainfall of nearly one metre was expected in northern mountain areas, including the hills near the capital Taipei.

Champi is expected to be at its closest to Taiwan late on Friday, off its northeastern coast, before heading north toward the seas off Shanghai. Taiwan's transport ministry said 125 flights had been cancelled on Thursday, mostly domestic ones, though the rail network was so far unaffected, and the interior ministry said no evacuations of residents had yet been reported.

Philippines raises Signal No. 2 over Batanes

In the Philippines, the state weather bureau PAGASA raised Storm Signal No. 2 over Batanes and the northeastern Babuyan Islands, and Signal No. 1 over the rest of the Babuyan Islands, mainland Cagayan, eastern Isabela, Ilocos Norte and Apayao, BusinessWorld reported. Intense rainfall of 100 to 200 mm was forecast for Batanes over 24 hours, with possible flooding and landslides.

Source: BusinessWorld / PAGASA

PAGASA said Champi, locally named Rosal, was last spotted 400 km east of Basco, Batanes, packing maximum sustained winds of 185 kph and gusts of up to 230 kph, and was expected to pass closest to extreme Northern Luzon between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning before exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Friday evening or early Saturday. Taiwan is generally very well prepared for typhoons, which keeps casualties low, Reuters noted.