A man was swept away while fishing and dozens of other people were injured as strong winds and rain battered the island.

Typhoon Podul hit Taiwan's sparsely populated southeast coast on Wednesday packing winds of up to 191 kph (118 mph), as a large swathe of southern and eastern parts of the island shut down and hundreds of flights were cancelled.

Typhoon Podul has crossed southeastern Taiwan, where schools and government offices were closed to wait out the storm. Podul caused minimal damage before heading westward toward China. Authorities had