Tropical Storm Fungwong Lands in Taiwan After Philippines Toll

Tropical Storm Fungwong made landfall in southern Taiwan's Pingtung County on Wednesday evening, bringing heavy rains, flooding and injuries to at least 95 people across the island, even as it weakened from its earlier super typhoon strength that ravaged the Philippines.

The storm, known locally as Uwan in the Philippines, struck Taiwan after causing widespread devastation there, including at least 27 deaths from drowning, falling debris, electrocution and landslides. Two people remained missing, and 36 others were injured in the archipelago, where more than 4.4 million people from 1.26 million families across 16 regions were affected. Over 1 million individuals were displaced, with about 707,000 sheltering in nearly 10,000 evacuation centers. Flooding persisted in 400 areas, rendering 274 roads and 61 bridges impassable, while 42,702 homes sustained damage, including 7,510 that were totally destroyed. The Bicol Region bore the heaviest toll, with over 1.4 million people impacted and extensive infrastructure losses estimated in the billions of pesos.

In the education sector, the storm damaged 2,953 schools nationwide, affecting nearly 16,000 classrooms, with 1,986 completely...