Typhoon Kong-rey makes landfall in Taitung

Taipei, Oct. 31 (CNA) The eye of Typhoon Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung's Chenggong Township in eastern Taiwan at 1:40 p.m. Thursday, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

The typhoon -- the first in Taiwan's history to make landfall after mid-October -- was moving in a north-northwesterly direction at a speed of 21 kilometers per hour when it hit land, CWA data showed.

The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184 kph, with gusts of up to 227 kph, CWA data showed.

The CWA said it had issued heavy to extremely torrential rain warnings covering northern, eastern and southern Taiwan, with the heaviest rainfall totals expected in mountainous areas of Yilan and Hualien.

All of Taiwan was also under a strong wind alert, with wind gusts of level 14 or above on the Beaufort Scale (149-165 kph) expected in Taitung, Hualien and Penghu, the CWA said.

Heavy winds and strong rain brought by the storm have so far injured 27 people, while efforts are ongoing to make contact with two Czech tourists missing in Taroko National Park, according to the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC).

Meanwhile, around 96,000 households were without power as of 1 p.m., including over 23,000 in Taitung and more than 14,000 each in Hualien, New Taipei and Chiayi County, according to the Taiwan Power Company.

The CWA said it expects the eye of the storm to pull away from the west coast of Taiwan sometime overnight, followed by the storm's outer rim on Friday morning.