At least five people have been killed, including a policeman, in landslides and flooding triggered by torrential rain as a typhoon hit Taiwan.
The officer drowned in a swollen river. Around 15 other people have been hurt as Saola wreaked havoc.
An evacuation of more than 1,000 people has taken place in the mountainous areas in the north and east of the island. Rescuers have used rubber boats and amphibious vehicles to help residents from flooded homes.
In the main cities including the capital, Taipei, most businesses, schools and financial markets were shut for the day.
In Sanshia township, Taipei county, CCTV footage showed a man dropping into a hole and being buried by debris after a road collapsed beneath him.
His body was recovered hours later after rescue workers searched the area. Officials said the road's foundations had been washed away by floodwaters from the nearby river.
A reporter from local network ETTV had to run away during her live broadcast when more of the road began collapsing behind her.
Around 100 domestic and international flights were cancelled, train services disrupted and roads closed.
Saola, which killed 23 people in the Philippines earlier this week, briefly made landfall on Taiwan's east coast early on Thursday.
It weakened to a tropical storm as it turned back out to sea and then moved northwest, skirting the island's north coast and heading for China.
Chinese authorities have issued warnings for Saola and a separate storm, Typhoon Damrey, which is expected to pass north of China's financial hub of Shanghai on Friday and is also set to weaken to a tropical storm.
The country's meteorological agency issued typhoon warnings for the southern and eastern provinces of Fujian and Jiangsu.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has told authorities to be on the highest alert, saying they should increase preparations and "put people's lives first".
