Taiwanese driver recounts his narrow escape during Typhoon Kong-rey

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A ride-hailing driver recounted Friday how he had narrow escape when a huge tree smashed onto his vehicle as Typhoon Kong-rey swept over Taiwan, also sweeping away metal roofs and sending landslides onto roads and into houses.

Song Zi-jie had just dropped off riders in Taipei, the capital city, and was stopped at a red light on Thursday night when a tree was uprooted and fell squarely onto the passenger compartment of his car. He felt the roof hit his head and reclined his seat but couldn’t open the rear door. He lay there until police found him.

“I was so frightened that I didn’t know what to do,” said Song, who wasn’t injured despite the extensive damage to his vehicle. “It took me a while to return to normal.”

Two people died and more than 500 others were injured by Kong-rey in Taiwan. It weakened to a tropical storm after leaving the island but was still bringing heavy rain and windy conditions to Shanghai and nearby parts of China's east coast.

Kong-rey, which is a Cambodian name, was heading northeast along the Chinese coast with winds of 83 kilometers (52 miles) per hour and could make landfall in Zhejiang province before veering back out to sea, the National Meteorological Center said.

Zhejiang and neighboring Fujian province suspended multiple ferry routes ahead of the approaching storm.

In Taiwan, authorities in the east coast province of Hualien said they had restored contact with a Czech couple feared missing. The two, who had pitched a tent in Taroko National Park, were in good condition, according to the official Central News Agency.

Workers cut and cleared up fallen trees in Taipei on Friday, while schools and offices largely reopened and public services were mostly restored across Taiwan.

The typhoon passed north of the Philippines earlier in the week, prompting fresh evacuations just days after devastating Tropical Storm Trami killed at least 145 people.

Intense rainfall caused in part by Trami also killed seven people this week in China's Hainan province as the storm passed by the island, which is known for its beach resorts, off the country's southern coast.

___

Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Associated Press writer Chris Bodeen in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed.