Typhoon batters Taiwan, barrels into mainland China

Morning light revealed empty streets covered in broken glass, from shattered windows on surrounding office buildings.

"I have never seen anything so scary in my entire life," 72-year-old Ma Wenhuan, who lives and works in Xiamen, told CNN. "We had to put so many buckets out to catch all the leaks."
Despite the winds lessening after landfall, they were strong enough to knock down trees, break windows and push a large inflated moon down the city's streets. The moon had been part of a display to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The powerful storm first raked southern Taiwan, bringing torrential rains and winds of up to 230 mph (370 kilometers per hour) -- faster than a Formula One race car.

One person died and 44 people were injured as the typhoon surged over the island, according to a Taiwan Red Cross spokeswoman.

"Typhoon Merandi is away from the Taiwan main island, but still our staff and volunteers are in the mobilization preparation," she said.

More than 900,000 households had lost power, the spokeswoman confirmed, while another 500,000 had issues with water supply. Hundreds of
thousands were also waiting for repairs, she said.

Meranti is the strongest typhoon since Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines in 2013.

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