Taiwan cancels flights as weakened Typhoon Chanthu approaches

Typhoon Chanthu weakened on Saturday as it approached Taiwan’s eastern coast and was unlikely to make landfall, meteorologists said, but strong winds left more than 100 flights and ferries cancelled.

Chanthu rapidly formed into a super typhoon in just 48 hours earlier this week threatening both the Philippines and Taiwan.

But it was since downgraded to a medium storm and will likely avoid hitting Taiwan directly according to the island’s central weather bureau.

The outer edge of the storm was lashing eastern and southern Taiwan with strong winds and rains on Saturday night after it grazed the northeastern tip of the Philippines.