At approximately 09:40 local time (01:00 GMT), the fire broke out at the Pingtung County Hospital in neighboring Kaohsiung, right as Typhoon Krathon made landfall to the west.
According to one story, the fire response was impeded by the windy and damp conditions.
Investigators are still trying to determine what started the fire, which was extinguished more than three hours later, according to officials.
According to certain sources, there was an electrical malfunction.
Images taken during the raging fire showed heavy clouds of gray smoke rising from one of the hospital buildings.
A little over 300 patients were taken to safety, and a few of them took up residence in a business nearby.
Troops from a nearby military base helped the firefighters.
