One dead, 31 injured as Typhoon Soulik hits Taiwan

TAIPEI: Typhoon Soulik battered Taiwan with torrential rain and powerful winds on Saturday that left one person dead and at least 30 injured.

Roofs were ripped from homes, debris and fallen trees littered the streets and some areas were submerged by flood waters.

One town in central Taiwan reported "widespread" landslides and water levels a storey high.

More heavy rain and strong winds are predicted throughout Saturday with the authorities warning of further landslides and flooding.

Around 8,000 people were evacuated from their homes before the typhoon struck, with hundreds of soldiers deployed to high-risk areas and the whole island declared an "alert zone" by the authorities.

In the capital Taipei, a 50-year-old police officer died after being hit by bricks that came loose during the typhoon, the Central Emergency Operation Centre said.

Three people were left seriously injured with 31 reported hurt across the island, most injured by trees or flying debris.

Soulik made landfall on the northeast coast around 03:00 am Saturday (2000 GMT Friday), packing winds of up to 190 kilometres an hour (118 miles), the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said.

"Heavy rains are expected throughout the day, especially in the mountainous areas in the centre and south," a weather forecaster from the bureau told.

Strong winds were also predicted, he said, but added that the CWB was likely to lift the current land warning at 5:00 pm (0900 GMT) as the threat from the typhoon diminishes and it churns towards mainland China.

Nine people were rescued from flooded homes in the Shiangshan area of Puli, a town in central Nantou county, which was also hit by landslides.

"The water came very fast, catching residents totally unprepared -- in some areas, it was one-storey deep," township official Wu Yuan-ming told.

The nine caught in the flood waters were rescued by firefighters in rubber boats after the river broke its banks, Wu said.

"Flooding and landslides were widespread in the town, especially in the areas near mountains," he added, calling the effects of the typhoon "more serious than we predicted".

Landslides reached the backyards of residents' homes but they had already evacuated, Wu said, adding that the ground may have been loosened by an earthquake last month.

A major landslide on a mountain road leading to Taian, a central town famous for its hot spring resorts, was also reported by local media.