A powerful typhoon slammed into Taiwan washing out roads, uprooting trees and killing at least one person.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of thousands of people around the island as electricity supplies faltered and rain battered the already saturated rivers valleys, mountainsides and urban landscapes.

Typhoon Sepat — by far the most powerful storm to hit the island this year — made landfall at 5:40 am (0310 IST) near the eastern city of Hualien. The storm — the third major tropical system to hit Taiwan in the past two weeks — cut an east-west swathe, leaving overturned cars, disrupted electricity grids and deserted streets in its wake.
At least one person was killed in Hualien, when a car overturned and plummeted into a steep valley.

South of that city, authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 1,000 people from the coastal community of Taidung, where electricity supplies were cut to 14,000 homes — a fraction of the 70,000 homes without power in eastern Taiwan.

After making landfall, the storm weakened with sustained winds of 155 kph — down from 184 kph, the Central Weather Bureau said.

Deluge
Sepat will continue to lose strength, but the storm could deluge western and southern Taiwan with torrential rains as it moves west toward China, the bureau warned.

Other evacuations were ordered from mountainous areas in Taoyuan and Taipei counties in the north, and Nantou county in the centre of the island.

All domestic air and train service were halted and some international flights — including service to Hong Kong and Japan — were cancelled.

Hurricane Dean
Hurricane Dean picked up strength in the Caribbean as forecasters upgraded it to a major category four storm with winds of 232 km per hour, reports DPA from Washington.

Mexican officials on Friday declared a state of emergency in the Caribbean region.

The centre of the storm had passed south of the Virgin Islands, the National Hurricane Centre in Florida reported.
The Dominican Republic and Guadeloupe were still under hurricane warning, the centre said.

Earlier in the day, Dean blew between the islands of Saint Lucia and Martinique.