Typhoon Champi declared strongest storm of year so far

One dead and 527 injured as winds of up to 185mph hit Taiwan and southern Japan, while Greece issues flood alerts

Typhoon Champi was declared the strongest storm of the year so far after recording sustained winds of 185mph last week. From late Thursday to early Saturday morning the typhoon battered Taiwan and Japan’s southern islands. Champi approached the east coast of Taiwan before the centre of the storm turned south along the Yilan County coastline, looping offshore and then tracking northwards away from the island. The storm brought gusts of up to 141mph and 48-hour rainfall totals of more than 620mm to parts of Yilan.

So far, the death toll remains at one, with 527 reported injured. There were widespread power outages, with more than 288,000 houses having no electricity at one point, although most had since been reconnected. Champi has been downgraded to a tropical storm as it rapidly weakens to the south-west of Japan’s mainland on Monday.