Typhoon Haikui, the 11th typhoon of this year, made landfall in Taitung County in China's Taiwan region on Sunday, the island's meteorological agency said.

The storm made landfall on the eastern part of the region Sunday, unleashing torrential downpours, whipping winds and plunging thousands of households into darkness as the first major storm to directly hit the island in four years.

Nearly 4,000 people were evacuated from high-risk areas, hundreds of flights were cancelled and businesses were closed in preparation for the storm.

The island's weather authority said at a press conference that the typhoon was "at our doorstep" and confirmed later to reporters that it had made landfall in coastal Taitung, a mountainous county in lesser-populated eastern part of Taiwan.

The typhoon has gathered speed since Saturday, and at 3:00 p.m. was packing sustained winds of about 154 km/h (95 mph).

"Rain and wind will be most intense and its impact will be most obvious during this period" after landfall, said a staff with the weather authority, adding that the typhoon will move into the Taiwan Straits by Monday evening.

Across the island, more than 21,000 households lost power, and while most resumed by mid-afternoon, about 9,000 were still without electricity when Haikui hit, including those in Taitung.

Authorities have reported two minor injuries in Hualien County, a mountainous region which was issued a warning for flash floods, after a fallen tree hit a car.

The last major storm to hit Taiwan was Typhoon Bailu in 2019, which left one person dead.

Local authorities has brought amphibious vehicles, inflatable rubber boats and other equipment around the parts of Taiwan where Haikui is expected to have the heaviest impact.

But it is expected to be less severe than Saola, which bypassed the Taiwan region but triggered the highest threat level in the nearby Hong Kong SAR and southern parts of the Chinese mainland before it weakened into a tropical storm by Saturday.

(With input from AFP)

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