Typhoon Champi Disrupts Taiwan as Storm Passes Offshore

Typhoon Champi’s approach prompted Taiwan to suspend work and classes across nearly the entire island on Friday, cancel hundreds of flights and evacuate nearly 1,300 people, as authorities warned of strong winds and heavy rain. The storm was forecast to pass offshore rather than make direct landfall, but its broad wind field had reached eastern Taiwan. Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration said Champi’s center was about 330 kilometers east of the island’s southern tip and forecast it to pass near the northeastern coast before turning north. The storm had weakened after briefly reaching super typhoon strength. Its wind radius was about 320 kilometers, large enough to affect much of Taiwan, the agency said. The transport ministry reported that all 262 domestic flights scheduled for Friday were cancelled. It also reported more than 350 international cancellations. Another account gave the international total as 669, without clarifying why the figures differed. A separate report cited 931 cancelled flights overall but did not establish whether that total used the same categories. Taiwan’s financial markets were also closed for the day. Government figures put the number of...