Taiwan lifted Champi’s land warning at 2:30 a.m. ET Saturday after the storm weakened to a tropical storm; Focus Taiwan later reported 616 injuries as Champi moved away from the island.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) ended the land alert earlier than its forecast for Saturday morning ET (Saturday evening in Taiwan). At 2 a.m. ET (06:00 UTC; 2 p.m. Taiwan time), CWA data placed Champi 260 kilometers northeast of Taipei. It was traveling north-northeast to northeast at 18 to 21 kph, with sustained winds of 108 kph and gusts of 137 kph.
The Central Emergency Operations Center (CEOC) said one person had died and 527 had been injured as of Saturday morning in Taiwan. In a later report timestamped 8:17 a.m. ET Saturday (12:17 UTC; 8:17 p.m. Taiwan time), Focus Taiwan put the injury count at 616. The CEOC said storm-driven waves killed a man on a beach in Liuqiu Township, Pingtung County, on Thursday. Taipei and Taichung had most of the injuries in the morning tally; the center cited fallen trees, electrical cables and billboards, and damaged water pipes among the causes.
The Maritime and Port Bureau reported 84 ferry sailings canceled across six routes. The CWA expected the separate sea warning to be lifted Saturday morning ET, or Saturday evening or night in Taiwan.
