rom the section Asia The storm is uprooting trees and tearing down billboards across the island Powerful Typhoon Soudelor is battering Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain, leaving at least four people dead. The storm - with winds of more than 230km/h (142mph) - made landfall on the eastern coast early on Saturday and is now moving across the island. It is ripping up trees and tearing down billboards, and triggered a landslide in at least one village. About two million households have been left without electricity. Rail services and flights have been cancelled and all schools and offices closed. The Jingmei River is threatening to flood parts of the capital Taipei Taiwan's weather bureau says the typhoon is moving north-west, gradually losing its strength. Among the victims were an eight-year-old girl and her mother who were swept out to sea. "I've never seen such a powerful typhoon in my 60 years," one resident in the eastern Taitung county t...

Wind gusts of up to 210km/h recorded as massive storm makes landfall on Saturday morning. 07 Aug 2015 22:16 GMT  |  Taiwan ,  Weather ,  Asia Pacific Preparation for the typhoon has not prevented casualties, with three deaths reported on Friday [Reuters] Typhoon Soudelor has made landfall in Taiwan, packing wind gusts of up to 210km/h and heavy rainfall, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau (CWB). As expected, the typhoon hit Taiwan in the early hours of Saturday morning. There were no immediate reports of damage. The CWB said the storm has brought with it wind gusts that have been recorded at 208km/h, and a sustained wind speed of 173km/h. Taiwan has had several days to prepare for the typhoon, which has been tracked from space by international space agencies. RELATED: Typhoon Soudelor bears down on Taiwan But the preparation has not prevented casualties, with three deaths reported on Friday in choppy waters off the coast of Taiwan's northe...

Powerful Pacific cyclone is heading towards the island state, threatening flooding and destructive winds. Richard Angwin  |  06 Aug 2015 05:28 GMT   On average, Taiwan is hit by more than three cyclones each year [AFP/NASA] The most powerful storm anywhere on the planet, so far this year, is heading across the Pacific Ocean towards the island of Taiwan. Soudelor attained 'Super' status on Tuesday with sustained winds of more than 240km/h. Its energy has come from the very warm surface waters of the western Pacific, where sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are around 31C. (SSTs in excess of 26C are generally required for cyclone formation.) The exceptionally warm surface waters are consistent with the current El Nino, and this explains why 2015 has been such an active year for Pacific cyclones. Soudelor is the sixth Category 5 cyclone (on the Saffir-Simpson scale) of 2015. Typically, we would expect to see around five such systems, during the entire year. This raise...