Typhoon Kong-rey hits Taiwan's east coast, leaving 1 dead
Taipei (AP/PTI): A powerful typhoon made landfall in Taiwan on Thursday, killing one person and bringing high winds and floods to much of the island's east coast and northern areas, after barrelling past the northern Philippines.
Flights and train service were suspended in Taiwan and 8,600 people moved to shelters.
Typhoon Kong-rey was blowing at 184 km (114 miles) per hour with gusts of up to 227 kph (141 mph) as it moved over the eastern county of Taitung. Parts of Yilan and Hualien counties were inundated by heavy rain, but many farmers in the largely rural areas had already brought in their crops in anticipation of damage from the storm.
Taiwan authorities reported one death and 73 injuries from the storm as of Thursday afternoon. The fatality occurred after a tree fell on a vehicle. Officials also said they were trying to contact a pair of Czech tourists who had been hiking in Hualien's Tarako National Park, famed for its steep cliffs and mountain trails. Other travellers were advised to stay where they were.
The capital, Taipei, was largely shut down as it was hit by high winds and heavy rains. Offices and schools across the island were closed. Off the north coast, a tugboat was dispatched to tow away a Chinese-registered freighter that floundered and had been abandoned by its crew amid heavy seas.
Earlier Thursday, the typhoon's eye blew about 110 km (68 miles) east of the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes, a cluster of islands and islets of about 19,000 people. Villagers in northern Philippine provinces evacuated to shelters on Wednesday.
The Philippines weather agency had warned the the storm could blow away roofs and shatter windows and wreak extensive damage to farmland, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
“It's so, so powerful and we haven't seen the extent of the damage yet because the wind outside is still so strong,” Batanes Governor Marilou Cayco told The Associated Press by cellphone before the line was cut off.
Kong-rey, the 12th weather disturbance to hit the Philippine archipelago this year, lashed the Southeast Asian nation while it's still recovering from a storm last week that left 179 dead and missing. Hundreds of thousands of people are still in emergency shelters from Tropical Storm Trami.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and regularly sends planes and warships around the island, largely suspended its patrols, with just eight planes detected around the island between Wednesday and Thursday, according to Taiwan's Defence Ministry.
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CMO orders inquiry, constable suspended following assault on Cafe owner in Bhatkal
Bhatkal: A constable from Bhatkal Town Police Station has been suspended following assaulting of a café owner late Sunday night. The suspension was ordered by Uttara Kannada Superintendent of Police, Narayana M, IPS, after the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) called for an inquiry into the incident.
The suspended officer, identified as Navin Naik, had been posted at the Bhatkal Town Police Station for the past four months.
The incident reportedly occurred during Naik’s beat patrol late on Sunday. According to witnesses, a heated argument broke out between the constable and a local cafe owner over the late-night closing hours of the establishment. The verbal altercation escalated into a physical scuffle, which was eventually broken up by bystanders.
The cafe owner has alleged that during the confrontation, the constable assaulted him with a baton while he was requesting for 10 minutes to shut down his establishment.
Following the complaint, the Chief Minister’s Office intervened on Tuesday, ordering a thorough inquiry into the matter. The Station House Officer (SHO) of Bhatkal Town Police Station has also been included in the investigation as the café owner alleged that the SHO was in the know of the thing when the incident took place.
Until the inquiry is completed and a report is submitted, Constable Navin Naik has been suspended from duty.
