The typhoon made landfall in Taiwan Wednesday and triggered mudslides and evacuations, after Saola swept through the Philippines

Text: Shah Salimat
Photos: AP

Extreme weather fell upon Taiwan as Typhoon Saola hit the island near the eastern coastal city of Hualien on 2 August at 3.20am Singapore time, according to the Central Weather Bureau. The typhoon blew gusts of wind at up to 155 kilometres per hour and triggered heavy rains in the northern and eastern Taiwan. More than 1,500 people were evacuated islandwide.

Close to 200 international and domestic flights were cancelled, with school and workplaces also suspending operations due to ankle-deep floods. Mudslides covered roads and farmland and close to 30,000 households were left without electricity for several hours. Electricity has since been restored to at least 25,000 of them.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange has been closed for the day by authorities. Saola's centre moved out to sea a few hours later at 7am Singapore time but it is not known if it will come back to Taiwan. As of 1pm Singapore time, Saola was moving northwest from Ilan at up to 18 kilometres an hour.

Here is our gallery of photos documenting the scene in Taiwan during Typhoon Saola.

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