As the first strong typhoon that hit Taiwan this year, Sepat made its landfall at Hualien on the east coast at 5:40 am, bringing exceptional strong winds and heavy rain to the whole island.

Both Hualien and neighboring Yilan County sustained the heaviest rain of between 800 and 1,000 milimeters for the past two days.

The powerful typhoon snapped hundreds of power line poles and cut off electricity up to more than 300,000 households, although power supply to most of the affected homes were gradually revived as of last night.

The strength of Sapat was blunted by the north-south Central Mountain Range and its speed slowed down when it crossed the island on its way into the strait. The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) was supposed to lift the typhoon warning on land by midnight yesterday after the eye of the typhoon existed the island at around noon.

It left from the mouth of the Choshui (Murky Water) River in the southwestern Yunlin County and moved toward the north of offshore Penghu County

But the bureau said it had to postpone the warning lift until early this morning because the extensive areas with a diameter of more than 250 kilometers covered by Sepat.

This means that all people throughout Taiwan should maintain high alert on continuing torrential rains today.

The number of rivers at high risk of mudflows was increased to 76 in the wake of continuing heavy rain triggered by Typhoon Sepat, officials at the Council of Agriculture's Soil and Water Conservation Bureau warned.

More than 2,000 people, mostly aboriginals living in the mountainous regions, had been evacuated from swelling river water and precarious areas threatened by mudslides around the country. Officials said no major human casualties or property damage had so far been reported.

A parcel delivery van plunged 50 meters into a mountain valley in Hualien in heavy rain, killing one man and injuring another.

Officials described the death of a man in Hualien was caused by a traffic accident and had no relation with typhoon. Six of the more than 12 wounded people were mostly motorcyclists who crashed in the capital city of Taipei. Some of those sustained injuries in other areas

Although protected by rolling hills surrounding the city, hundreds of trees on the streets felled and at least half a dozen of cars were crushed by heavy trees.

Taipei City officials said all vehicles temporarily parked on red and yellow lines, as well as at schools and selected bridges under relaxed rules during the onslaught of the typhoon should be moved to other places by 10 a.m. this morning.

The Taipei County set the stricter rule of removing such cars before 8 a.m. to avoid blocking of normal traffic flow.

The state-owned the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) resumed most train services in the afternoon while the high-speed rail system restarted its bullet train services in the evening.

While domestic flights were canceled yesterday, customers were urged to check their latest flight information.

The ferry service between Kinmen of Taiwan and Xiamen of China's Fujian Province will remain closed for one more day today.

More than half a million of residents in Fujian and neighboring provinces were evacuated to safe places and officials were instructed to take anti-typhoon measures to minimize possible losses.

Over 10,000 fishing boats have anchored in Fujian ports, and Xiamen city in the province has canceled all flights for Saturday. The cancellations are expected to remain in force today.

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