Mekkhala, downgraded from a typhoon, still carries winds of up to 108 km/h and has already brought torrential rain and triggered floods and landslides across Taiwan, where at least two people have died. A 73-year-old woman was swept away by floodwaters in Kaohsiung, and a 49-year-old woman was found dead inside a submerged car in Hsinchu county. A 65-year-old man is missing in Hsinchu after checking on his farmland.

In Japan, four people have been injured, and authorities are warning of further flooding and landslides. Mekkhala is expected to sweep across Kyushu, Shikoku, and Honshu over the weekend, affecting densely populated areas including Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo. The storm is expected to converge with Higos further out in the Pacific, potentially creating the Fujiwhara effect, where two storms interact and complicate forecasting.

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have cancelled 120 flights to southern regions. Toyota suspended operations at a Kyushu plant, and Nissan planned to halt some production lines. In Taiwan, over 1,600 people were evacuated, schools and offices were shut, and train lines suspended. Authorities warned of dangerous debris flows in mountainous areas, with up to 88 cm of rain recorded since Thursday. (Bssnews)