Typhoon Champi impacted Taiwan with intense winds and heavy rainfall, leaving more than 146,000 households without electricity. By Friday night, power had been restored to over 122,000 of those homes, while repair crews initiated further work on Saturday morning in New Taipei and Keelung to address damage caused by overnight gusts. To bolster these restoration efforts, authorities deployed 15 work teams from five regional offices located in central and southern Taiwan to the northern region.
The storm's passage resulted in at least one death and dozens of injuries, while simultaneously causing significant disruptions to air traffic. In response to the severe conditions, government authorities mandated the closure of schools and offices across the island, with the notable exceptions of Taitung County and the outlying islands of Penghu and Matsu.
According to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration, the typhoon was positioned over waters east of Yilan as of Saturday and was projected to weaken into a mild typhoon by the afternoon. Officials expected to lift existing land and sea warnings by Saturday evening. While rainfall shifted westward after impacting northern and eastern Taiwan on Friday, mountainous areas south of Hsinchu recorded heavy rain early Saturday, and localized torrential rain was observed in the mountains of Miaoli. Although precipitation is forecast to gradually ease, the weather agency noted that localized heavy rain remains possible north of Taichung.
Despite the weakening of the storm, the agency cautioned that seas surrounding Taiwan remain rough. Wave heights are currently reaching 2 to 3 metres (6.6 to 9.8 feet), with the potential for waves exceeding 6 metres (19.7 feet) in northern and northeastern waters throughout Saturday.
