Tens of thousands of homes lost power across Taiwan as the island was hit by super-typhoon Meranti – a storm rated the strongest in the world so far this year – forcing schools and businesses to close and leading to flight cancellations.Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau warned that the Category 5 storm would threaten several southern and eastern cities, including Kaohsiung and Hualien, with strong winds, torrential rain and flooding. Meranti, which grew in strength as it neared Taiwan, was carrying maximum winds of 216km/h (134mph), meteorologists said. Fallen power cables and trees were among some of the early damage reported on Wednesday. Read more
