Super typhoon Krathon is making landfall in Taiwan’s populous southwest on Tuesday with strong winds and heavy rain, forcing authorities to ground some domestic flights and close schools and offices.
According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, Krathon is forecast to make landfall on Wednesday. The storm has a maximum sustained wind speed of about 150 miles per hour third head, equivalent to a level 4 storm. The center classifies storms with winds above 150 mph as superstorms.
Local authorities said the storm was expected to make landfall near the port city of Kaohsiung on the southwest coast, Taiwan’s third-largest city.
The city’s mayor, Chen Chi-mai, warned of the risk of flooding and landslides, adding that the storm could bring waves as high as 20 feet to the city, home to about 2.7 million people. million people. He said on social media that Krathon could be compared to Typhoon Thelma, the devastating storm that hit southern Taiwan in 1977 and left 37 people dead.
In July, Storm Gaemithe strongest storm to hit the island in eight years, flooding Kaohsiung and other southern cities with nearly 4 feet of rain. The storm killed 11 people.
On Monday, Krathon hit islands in the northern Philippines with strong winds and heavy rain, causing flash floods and forcing people to evacuate, before strengthening as it moved north.
After making landfall in Taiwan, it is expected to move north before returning to open waters on Thursday, the weather agency said. The heaviest rain will fall in the South, where some cities could receive more than 14 inches of rain within 24 hours. Even in the north, the mountains around the capital Taipei are expected to receive more than 3 inches of rain in 24 hours.
Typhoons are frequent in Taiwan, but they usually make landfall on the island’s sparsely populated, mountainous east coast and rarely make landfall on the more densely populated west coast. The last time a super typhoon made landfall in southwestern Taiwan was in 1966, according to the Central Weather Administration.
The weather agency warned people in Kaohsiung City, as well as Tainan City, Pingtung County and nearby Chiayi County, to take “strict precautions” against strong winds and torrential rain. . On Monday, schools and offices in those areas as well as Hualien and Taitung districts on Taiwan’s east coast were closed.
Taiwan’s aviation authority said all domestic flights – more than 200 in total – would be canceled on Wednesday. Hong Kong Airlines has canceled some flights between Hong Kong and Taipei. Taiwan Railways, the national rail operator, said it would suspend some train services from Tuesday.
Early Tuesday morning, a cargo ship off Taiwan’s southeastern coast flooded its engine room, forcing 19 sailors from Ukraine, Egypt and Russia to abandon ship. Taiwan’s coast guard said in a statement that it had successfully transported the crew from the stranded ship to nearby Lanyu island.
