Taipei.- At least two people died and more than 500 were injured in
Taiwan due to the passage of Typhoon Danas, which made landfall in the south of the island late Sunday with winds of more than 220 kilometers per hour (km/h), official sources reported this Monday.
According to the latest count from the Central Emergency Operations Command (CEOC), most of the damage is concentrated in the southern region of Taiwan, especially in Tainan, Chiayi, and Kaohsiung, where numerous fallen trees and damage to civil infrastructure and public services were recorded.
So far, 5,205 incidents of various kinds have been reported throughout the island, and nearly 700,000 homes lost their electricity supply at some point due to the typhoon.
Danas made landfall in Budai Township, Chiayi County, at 23:40 (15:40 GMT) on Sunday, and went out to sea north of the island around 06:00 on Monday, becoming a tropical storm, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau.
The agency indicated that winds of up to 222.1 km/h had been recorded at a weather station in the central county of Yunlin, the maximum level on the Beaufort scale, due to the absence of a mountain range that would act as a natural barrier.
"The trajectory of this typhoon is unusual (...). The western half of the country will be the most affected, but the entire island will progressively feel the effects of the wind and rain," warned Taiwanese President William Lai this Sunday, through his official Facebook account, in which he asked to avoid mountainous or coastal areas.
More than 160 flights were canceled or rescheduled at Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan's largest airport, as a result of the typhoon, and fifteen ferry routes were suspended this Monday.
Taiwan is particularly sensitive to natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, although these usually make landfall on the east coast, a mountainous region with a low population density.
In November of last year, Typhoon Kong-rey - the largest to make landfall in Taiwan in almost thirty years - left three dead, 690 injured, and millions in losses in the local agricultural sector.
In the early days of October, the island also suffered the onslaught of Typhoon Krathon, which caused thirteen deaths - including nine people after a fire in a hospital - and more than 700 injuries, and in mid-July it was hit by Typhoon Gaemi, which caused ten deaths and more than 900 injuries.
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