Saola storms hit Taiwan, 6 people were killed

Typhoon Saola attacked Taiwan (China) with strong winds and heavy rain that killed six people and caused almost all of the island to stall operations on Thursday.

Nearly 200 domestic and international flights were canceled and authorities also had to suspend transactions on the financial market due to bad weather.

Saola is the first major storm to attack the island this year. It caused heavy rains especially in the north and east of the island and caused a number of major landslides, forcing authorities to evacuate more than 1,500 people on the island.

Television images from a police helicopter show that landslides are engulfing many roads, farmland and threatening many families. In the northern Sanhsia district, a man was buried in a landslide and a police officer drowned while traveling in the area, the Central Emergency Response Center said.

The remaining two cases were recorded in the Chiayi District of South Taiwan and Kaohsiung. Many people in the island woke up and found their residence flooded with ankle-high water. Classes and other activities have stalled everywhere, from the Taidong district in the Southeast.

The storm with winds up to 155km / h caused many trees to fall and hinder traffic in many places in Taipei. The storm has moved to the sea around 7am."The storm is weakening, but it will cause heavy rain in parts of Taiwan," the Weather Bureau said.

Railway traffic remained stagnant while the high-speed train connecting Taipei with Kaohsiung had to reduce the number of flights from 123 to 97. About 30,000 families lived without electricity for several hours.

The weather agency said the storm will continue to affect until the weekend and strong winds appear after the storm may cause rain in some areas of the southern island next week.