Typhoon Haikui Makes Landfall In Eastern Taiwan

Nearly 4,000 people were evacuated from high-risk areas, hundreds of flights cancelled and businesses closed in preparation for the storm.

Typhoon Haikui made landfall on eastern Taiwan Sunday, unleashing torrential downpours, whipping winds and plunging thousands of households into darkness as the first major storm to directly hit the island in four years.

Nearly 4,000 people were evacuated from high-risk areas, hundreds of flights cancelled and businesses closed in preparation for the storm.

Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said in a press conference the typhoon was "at our doorstep" and by 3:40 pm (0740 GMT) confirmed to AFP it had made landfall in coastal Taitung, a mountainous county in lesser-populated eastern Taiwan.