The massive storm threatened several cities with terrifying winds, torrential rain and flooding as it barrelled towards China
THIS is the dramatic moment a scooter rider is flattened by a huge piece of flying debris as Super Typhoon Meranti pummelled Taiwan.
More than half a million homes lost power and several people were hurt as the monster storm battered the island with 185mph winds on its devastating path to China.
One of the injured victims was caught on camera riding his scooter down a road as rain hammered down.
He slams on the brakes after apparently spotting a huge piece of debris careering towards him.
But he was unable to jump off his vehicle in time and he smashed in the face, sending him skidding along the road.
Emergency workers said many power lines were brought down by strong winds, some by falling trees, cutting electricity to 550,000 households.
Emergency centre spokesman Li Wei-sen said: 'The damage from Meranti will continue to rise as the storm slams the island.
"Losses probably cannot be avoided, but we'll try to minimise casualties."
Trains and shipping services were disrupted, while offices and schools in Kaohsiung and other cities were closed and almost 1,500 people were evacuated, the centre said.
Most domestic flights have been cancelled, including all of those from Kaohsiung airport, where international flights were also severely affected.
Taiwan will feel the full force of the typhoon through Wednesday and into Thursday before it barrels into China, meteorologists said.
Meranti is expected to make landfall in the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Fujian on Thursday, where authorities were cancelling trains and preparing to evacuate people, state media said.
In Guangdong province, authorities ordered trawlers to return to harbour and fishermen to take shelter.
The official China News Service said the storm could be the strongest typhoon to hit that part of China since 1969.
Typhoons are common at this time of year, picking up strength as they cross the warm waters of the Pacific and bringing fierce winds and rain when they hit land.
Meranti comes just over two months after the deadly typhoon Nepartak cut power, grounded flights and forced thousands to flee their homes across central and southern areas of Taiwan.
In 2009, Typhoon Morakot cut a swath of destruction through southern Taiwan, killing about 700 people and causing up to $3 billion of damage.
American environmentalist, Bill McKibben, tweeted an image of the storm and said it was “as scary a pic as I’ve ever seen.”
The super typhoon will likely dampen celebrations and disrupt traffic during the four-day Mid-autumn Festival holiday period starting Thursday, a major holiday in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.
As well as the evacuations and closures, the defence ministry said it had ordered about 33,000 soldiers to be on standby.
Three people were killed and hundreds were injured when super typhoon Nepartak pounded Taiwan in July with the strongest winds in over a century.
