Keelung:

Taiwan shut down on Thursday as Super Typhoon Kong-rey neared, forcing thousands to flee from one of the most powerful storms to threaten the island in years.

Up to 10-metre waves pounded shores along the lightly populated, mountainous east coast where the fast-moving Kong-rey was expected to make landfall within hours. 

Kong-rey was packing wind gusts of nearly 250 kilometres per hour (155 miles per hour), according to the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

The storm is currently more powerful than Typhoon Gaemi, which was the strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan in eight years when it made landfall in July.

“With the typhoon approaching, we should beware of the strong winds near the centre,” Chu Mei-lin from the state weather forecaster, Central Weather Administration, told a briefing. 

“Its impact on the entire Taiwan will be quite severe.”

Work and schools across Taiwan were suspended on Thursday as people hunkered down for the storm.

The streets of Taipei were largely deserted as bursts of heavy rain and fierce wind lashed the capital.

“This typhoon feels very strong,” 52-year-old office worker Kevin Lin told AFP as he enjoyed a day off at home.

“I’m used to the many typhoons in Taiwan and I don’t feel scared.”

Troops on standby

At least 27 people have been injured in the wild weather, with trees being knocked down and four mudslides recorded, the National Fire Agency said Thursday, without providing details. 

Authorities were still trying to contact two Czech tourists believed to be hiking in Taroko Gorge in Hualien after they could not be reached on their satellite and mobile phones.

More than 400 domestic and international flights were cancelled while all ferry services were suspended. Around 18,000 homes lost power, but most have been reconnected, disaster officials said. 

Kong-rey was travelling at 28 kilometres per hour (16 miles per hour) as it swept towards Hualien and Taitung counties.

The storm was expected to slow after hitting land and then move across the island before exiting over the Taiwan Strait in the evening, Chu said.  

With a radius of 320 kilometres, Kong-rey was on track to be the most expansive severe typhoon to make landfall in nearly 30 years, the Central Weather Administration said.

More than a metre of rain could fall in the hardest-hit areas along the east coast by Friday as the seasonal monsoon also drenched the island of 23 million people earlier in the week, prompting warnings of landslides.

Authorities began evacuations on Wednesday in vulnerable counties and cities, including Yilan, Hualien and Taitung, according to the National Fire Agency. 

Around 8,600 people had been evacuated from their homes by Thursday.

Forecasters have warned of “destructive” winds from Kong-rey, and nearly 35,000 troops were on standby to help with relief efforts.

Scientists have warned climate change is increasing the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains and flash floods and stronger gusts.

Kong-rey will be the third typhoon to hit Taiwan since July.

Gaemi killed at least 10 people, injured hundreds and triggered widespread flooding in the southern seaport of Kaohsiung.

That was followed in early October by Krathon, which killed at least four people and injured hundreds, triggering mudslides, flooding and record-strong gusts.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Kaohsiung on October 3, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

A fire at a hospital in southern Taiwan killed at least nine people Thursday (October 3, 2024) as the island was being battered by a typhoon.

The fire occurred in Pingtung county, which has been hit hard by Typhoon Krathon, which made landfall in the afternoon with torrential rains and heavy winds and has brought parts of the island to a standstill.

Those who died inhaled smoke from the fire, the source of which was still under investigation.

Soldiers from a nearby base were mobilized to aid medical workers and firefighters in the evacuation of patients and putting out the flames. Reports said 176 patients were rushed to the front entrance and transferred to ambulances or tarps, used to shield them from the pouring rain. They were moved to shelters nearby.

Krathon made landfall in the major port city of Kaohsiung, packing winds of 126 kph (78 mph) with higher gusts, according to Taiwan’s weather authorities.

The slow-moving typhoon has doused eastern and southern parts of the island over the past five days, forcing thousands to evacuate from mountainous or low-lying areas. The weather administration has Kaohsiung and Pingtung County residents to not go outside when the eye of the storm passes above their area.

Flooding and high winds have caused considerable damage to industries from fishing to to chemicals, while cutting off transportation routes and electrical networks. Taiwan has made considerable progress in fireproofing public facilities in recent years by banning smoking and boosting implimentation of building regulations.

In this photo taken on July 24, 2024 and released by Hualien Fire Department, a car is being hit by falling walls after Typhoon Gaemi made landfall in Hualien county, Taiwan.
| Photo Credit: AP

Typhoon Gaemi swept towards southern China on July 25 after killing at least two people in Taiwan, with nine sailors missing after their cargo ship sank in stormy weather.

The typhoon — the strongest to hit Taiwan in eight years — had already forced authorities on the island to shutter schools and offices, suspend the stock market and evacuate thousands of people.

On its path to Taiwan, Gaemi also exacerbated the seasonal rains in the Philippines, triggering flooding and landslides that killed six, and a tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of oil sank off Manila on July 24 with authorities racing to contain a spill.

“By Thursday morning, the typhoon had weakened and “the centre has moved out to sea” at around 4.20 a.m. (2020 GMT),” Taiwan’s weather authorities said.

Taiwan’s fire agency said it received a report on Thursday that a cargo ship had sunk off the island’s southern coast, forcing its nine Myanmar crew members to abandon ship in life jackets.

“They fell into the sea and were floating there,” said Hsiao Huan-chang, head of the fire agency, adding that rescuers contacted a nearby Taiwanese cargo ship to assist them.

Hsiao did not specify when the Tanzania-flagged ship sank, but said the rescue vessel arrived in the area at 8.35 a.m. (0035 GMT).

“(When the Taiwanese ship arrived) the visibility at the scene was very low and the winds were too strong,” he told reporters. “When the weather permits, we will immediately dispatch ships or helicopters to rescue but at the moment it is not possible.”

Another official at the agency told AFP after the briefing that the sailors were missing. Gaemi made landfall in Taiwan on July 24 with sustained wind speeds of 190 km (118 miles) per hour at its peak.

More than 200 people were injured and at least two were confirmed killed — a motorist in the southern Kaohsiung city was crushed by a tree, and a woman in eastern Hualien died after part of a building fell on her.

Several cities, including Taipei, announced a second consecutive day off, with schools, government offices and the stock market closed, while hundreds of domestic and international flights were cancelled.

In the south, Kaohsiung residents saw their streets transformed into rivers, with some households flooded with rainwater.

The storm is now tracking towards China’s Fujian province, which suspended all train services and put in place the second-highest flood warning alert level.

The national water resources ministry warned the day before that extremely heavy rains were expected to swell rivers and lakes in Fujian and the neighbouring province of Zhejiang.

In the Philippines, clean-up efforts were under way Thursday in the capital Manila as residents and business owners dumped soaked mattresses, bags of rubbish and other debris on muddy streets.

Street vendor Zenaida Cuerda, 55, said the food she had been selling had washed away and her house in Manila was flooded.

“All my capital is gone,” Cuerda told AFP. “I have nothing now, that’s my only livelihood.”

The region sees frequent tropical storms from July to October, but experts say climate change has increased their intensity, leading to heavy rains, flash floods and strong gusts.

Taitung, Taiwan:

Typhoon Haikui made landfall on eastern Taiwan Sunday, unleashing torrential downpours, whipping winds and plunging thousands of households into darkness as the first major storm to directly hit the island in four years.

Nearly 4,000 people were evacuated from high-risk areas, hundreds of flights cancelled and businesses closed in preparation for the storm.

Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau said in a press conference the typhoon was “at our doorstep” and by 3:40 pm (0740 GMT) confirmed to AFP it had made landfall in coastal Taitung, a mountainous county in lesser-populated eastern Taiwan.

Residents hunkered down indoors in the dark, staying away from windows as strong gusts of wind sent toppled trees and dislodged water tanks flying in the air, according to an AFP reporter.

“I think this time it is serious,” said retired mechanic Chang Jhi-ming, 58, in Taitung.

“This is just beginning, the wind is just coming in and you can see trees toppling already.”

The typhoon has gathered speed since yesterday, and at 3:00 pm was packing sustained winds of about 154 kilometres (95 miles) per hour.

“Rain and wind will be most intense and its impact will be most obvious during this period” after landfall, said a spokesperson with the weather bureau, adding that the typhoon will move into the Taiwan Strait by Monday evening.

Across the island, more than 21,000 hosueholds lost power, and while most resumed by mid-afternoon, about 9,000 were still without electricity when Haikui hit — including in Taitung.

Authorities have reported two minor injuries in Hualien county — a mountainous region which was issued a warning for flash floods — after a fallen tree hit a car.

The last major storm to hit Taiwan was Typhoon Bailu in 2019, which left one person dead.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Haikui would be the first in four years to cross the Central Mountain Range running north to south of the island — a path that could lead to landslides in surrounding counties.

“I remind the people to make preparations for the typhoon and watch out for your safety, avoid going out or any dangerous activities,” President Tsai said.

– ‘Big winds’ –

The streets in Hualien were deserted Sunday, battered by unrelenting rain, while a fishing harbour in northeastern coastal Yilan county saw towering waves slam against the shore.

In Taitung, before Haikui landed, ripped up trees already littered the streets, street signs swayed under the strong winds and a restaurant owner tied down his signpost advertising seafood.

“I almost forgot what it’s like to be in a typhoon. What big winds!” restaurant owner Huang Jun-tong said, adding that when he woke up this morning he immediately went to his shop to make sure everything was protected.

“Yesterday, it was so calm that we did not feel like a typhoon was coming. Today, we feel it,” he told AFP.

The military had mobilised soldiers and equipment — such as amphibious vehicles and inflatable rubber boats — around the parts of Taiwan where Haikui is expected to have the heaviest impact.

But it is expected to be less severe than Saola, which bypassed Taiwan but triggered the highest threat level in nearby Hong Kong and southern China before it weakened into a tropical storm by Saturday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)