Typhoon Nepartak tears through Taiwan, leaving three dead and driving thousands from their homes
One person was killed when they were struck by furniture lifted up by the storm
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Your support makes all the difference.Typhoon Nepartak has ripped through Taiwan, peeling open buildings, overturning cars and downing trees.
Three people died and 142 others were injured after winds reaching up to 140mph smashed into the east coast of the country.
The typhoon made it to landfall at dawn on Friday in Taitung county - where most people have been injured.
One man was killed after he was swept away into a river in Hualien, on the east coast of Taiwan, reports the South China Morning Post.
Another was killed when they were struck by a piece of furniture, lifted up by the tropical storm.
On Dongying, a Taiwanese Island, a soldier fell into the sea. His body was later retrieved.
Nepartak, the first typhoon to form in the north-west Pacific this year, is now on its way towards mainland China.
Areas in southern Taiwan have been flooded and the typhoon cut off power to more than 360,000 homes, although most areas had regained electricity by Friday afternoon.
The storm hit the coast as a Category 4 typhoon, the second most powerful sort, according the forecasting agency Tropical Storm Risk. But the typhoon was downgraded to a Category 2 later in the afternoon, as it headed towards China.
As the super typhoon charged its way across the Pacific towards Taiwan on Wednesday, thousands of tourists were evacuated and more than 35,000 soldiers were placed on standby to help.
People in Taiwan have been warned that although the typhoon is over, heavy rain is expected to cause problems over the next few days.
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