- Taiwan prepares for Typhoon to hit the island soon
- Typhoon Krathon's path is relatively unusual, coming from the south and moving east
- The storm is already battering remote islands
Taiwan prepares for Typhoon to hit the island soon
Taiwan closed schools and evacuated thousands of people in the southern part of the island on Tuesday in preparation for the approach of super typhoon Krathon, which the country's president has warned could cause "catastrophic damage".
Kraton, a category 3 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 198 kilometers and gusts of 245 kilometers per hour, is forecast to reach the island near the port city of Gaosiong on Wednesday.
Offices and schools were closed in the southern and eastern regions of Taiwan, and the Ministry of the Interior reported that more than 7,000 people had been evacuated from the most vulnerable areas as a precaution.
President Lai Ching-te warned that Krathon could "inevitably cause catastrophic damage".
Typhoon Krathon's path is relatively unusual, coming from the south and moving east
Therefore, we need to be extra vigilant," he said in a government briefing.
According to the Ministry of Defence, nearly 40,000 troops are on standby to participate in the humanitarian response.
Dozens of international and domestic flights have been canceled.
In southern Gaosiong, where the typhoon is expected to make landfall, residents have been sandbagging and putting up barriers around their homes and taping up windows to prevent flooding.
Coastguards patrolling near the tourist hotspot of Sisivan Bay have instructed people to avoid the coastline battered by powerful waves.
The storm is already battering remote islands
According to the Central Meteorological Administration, the typhoon was about 230 kilometers from Gaosiong at 11.00 a.m. (3.00 a.m. GMT).
Moving towards Taiwan, the storm devastated several remote islands in the Philippines, cutting power and communication lines and damaging "many" houses, according to the local mayor.
The Philippines' National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on Tuesday that nearly 1 800 people had been evacuated, almost half of them in the Batanes islands near southern Taiwan.
Taiwan's coastguards reported that the Barbados Blue Lagoon, a Barbadian ship in the sea off Taitung in the south of the country, had taken on water during the storm and was listing on its side. Nineteen of its 19 crew members were waiting for conditions to improve so that they could be rescued by helicopter.
Authorities said, without giving further details, that about 15 people had suffered minor injuries from the typhoon across Taiwan by Tuesday.
Local media reported that in Taitung, where the typhoon caused heavy rainfall and wave heights of up to seven meters, a man was hospitalized after a large rock hit his truck on a mountain road.
Typhoons are a common occurrence in this region at this time of year.
However, a recent study has shown that, due to climate change, they are becoming more frequent in coastal regions, intensifying faster and lasting longer.
Based on ELTA reports
