Taiwan issues land warning ahead of arrival of powerful Typhoon Champi

Taiwan issued a land warning on Thursday ahead of the arrival of powerful Typhoon Champi and cancelled more than 100 flights, with the storm expected to brush past the island's northeastern coast and gradually weaken on approach.



At one point a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, Champi weakened slightly on Thursday but was still packing gusts of more than 227 kph near its centre, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA).



The storm is currently about 520 km southeast of Taiwan's southern tip, the CWA said. The storm's track shows it will pass northeastern Taiwan, turn north toward the Chinese coast and eventually move into southern Japan.



The administration said the typhoon's radius expanded slightly to 320 km, large enough to cover most of Taiwan, and weather experts said its impact could last nearly two days.



While typhoons are more common during the summer months, they can also strike in autumn, bringing strong winds and torrential rain.