Typhoon Haikui: Taiwan evacuates thousands, cancels flights as storm approaches

News Snapshot:

Nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated from high-risk areas in eastern Taiwan ahead of Typhoon Haikui as authorities prepare for the first tropical storm to directly hit the island in four years. Haikui – which had already brought heavy rains by Sunday morning – is packing a sustained wind speed of about 140km/h (39mph) and is expected to make landfall in Taiwan’s eastern Taitung area by 5pm (0900 GMT). Schools and offices around the southern and eastern parts of the island were closed on Sunday and more than 200 domestic flights cancelled. Haikui “will be the first typhoon to make...