Taiwan went into lockdown on Wednesday with hundreds of flights canceled and offices, schools and financial markets closed ahead of the arrival of weak Typhoon Krathon, which is expected to lash the coast with storm surge and torrential rains.
The government in Kaohsiung, a major port city located in the storm’s exact path, told people to stay at home and away from the sea, rivers and mountains, warning of a repeat of 1977’s Typhoon Thelma that killed 37 people and decimated a population of 2.7 million. Destroyed the city.
Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons, but they usually strike the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast facing the Pacific Ocean, but Krathon will make landfall on the island’s flat western plain.
The Central Meteorological Administration (CWA) said it is expected to hit Kaohsiung and its neighboring city of Tainan early Thursday, after which it will move along the west coast towards the capital Taipei.
All cities and counties in Taiwan declared a day off on Wednesday, keeping financial markets closed.TWII. Domestic flights, including 246 international ones, have been canceled for the day.
The North-South High Speed Rail line remained open, but the number of operations remained low.
The weather administration said the typhoon has weakened, but the threat of storm surge and strong winds and rain remains as it slowly moves toward Taiwan’s coast.
“Typhoon Gemmi was quite severe earlier this year, so this time everyone is more alert and prepared,” Yu Ren-yu, a 35-year-old sales representative, said as he picks up sandbags at a government office, referring to the storm that struck in July. “
“First be prepared, then we can face this storm.”
Chou Yi-tang, a government official working in Siaogang district, where the airport is located, said the typhoon had revived bad memories of Thelma for the older generation, prompting residents to take extra precautions.
“The events of almost five decades ago had a direct impact on us,” he said. “There was power failure for two weeks and no water for almost a month. It was devastating.”
Chow said that in his district, more than 700 sandbags have been distributed, a record for a single storm, while officials are doing more to meet demand.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it had placed more than 38,000 troops on standby.
The fire department reported 46 people injured, most of them in the mountainous eastern county of Taitung, while one person was missing in Yunlin County in central Taiwan.
TSMC2330.TW , the world’s largest contract chip maker and a major Apple and Nvidia supplier, said on Tuesday it did not expect the storm to have a significant impact on its operations.
TSMC has factories on Taiwan’s west coast, including the city of Tainan.