A fire at a hospital in southern Taiwan has killed at least nine people as the island was being battered by a typhoon.
The fire occurred in Pingtung county on Thursday, which has been hit hard by Typhoon Krathon.
The storm made landfall in the afternoon with torrential rains and heavy winds bringing parts of the island to a standstill.
Those who died inhaled smoke from the fire, the source of which was still under investigation.
Soldiers from a nearby base were mobilised to aid medical workers and firefighters in the evacuation of patients and putting out the flames.
Reports said 176 patients were rushed to the front entrance and transferred to ambulances or tarps, used to shield them from the pouring rain. They were moved to shelters nearby.
Typhoon Krathon made landfall in the major port city of Kaohsiung, packing winds of 126 kilometres per hour with higher gusts, according to Taiwan's weather authorities.
Weather-related events attributed to the typhoon injured at least 123 people around the island, according to Taiwan's fire department.
Two people died — one after driving into fallen rocks on the road in the south-eastern Taitung county, and the other while trimming tree branches in the city of Hualien. Two others remained missing.
Thousands were evacuated from areas vulnerable to mudslides and landslides. Almost 40,000 troops were on standby to help with rescue efforts.
Mountainous areas in the island's south have received up to 169 centimetres of rain over the past five days.
China's weather agency said some eastern and southern parts of Taiwan were set to receive extremely heavy rains of up to 40 centimetres over the next 24 hours.
Typhoons rarely hit Taiwan's west coast, affecting instead the mountainous eastern side of the island.
Earlier in the week, Typhoon Krathon lashed northern Philippine islands, killing four people and displacing at least 5,000, officials said.
AP/ABC
