Typhoon Kong-rey made landfall in Taiwan on Thursday as the most powerful storm to hit the island in nearly three decades, killing one person and injuring more than 200 others.

       The authorities in Taiwan closed schools, offices and financial markets, evacuated thousands of people, grounded hundreds of flights, and mobilized the military to help deal with the storm.

       Kong-rey was the most powerful typhoon to hit Taiwan in 28 years, said Gene Huang, a forecaster with the island’s Central Weather Administration. The storm approached the island with maximum sustained winds of about 109 miles per hour, equivalent to those of a strong Category 2 hurricane, according to the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

       At least one person died, and 205 were injured by heavy wind and rain on the island as of Thursday night, according to Taiwan’s national fire agency. A 56-year-old woman in central Taiwan died after a tree fell and crashed into the truck she was in, the agency said.

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       More than 11,900 people were evacuated in 14 cities and counties on the island, according to Taiwan’s Interior Ministry.

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       By early Friday, the eye of Kong-rey had passed over the island and into the Taiwan Strait. The storm was still packing maximum sustained winds of up to 69 m.p.h. according to forecasters.

       Source: NOAA

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