Taiwan shut down virtually all its services on Wednesday, with hundreds of flights suspended and schools, offices and financial markets closed ahead of the arrival of a weakening Typhoon Krathon. Already, one person has been reported dead and torrential rain is battering the island’s south.
Officials in the key port city of Kaohsiung, the alleged eye of the storm, had told people to stay home and avoid the sea, rivers and mountains, warning that there might be a repeat of 1977’s Typhoon Thelma that killed 37 and wrecked the city of 2.7 million people.
Weather forecasters have said that while the typhoon has weakened, the threats from a storm surge, strong winds and rain are still potent as it slowly makes its way towards Taiwan’s coast.
The fire department had earlier reported one person dead —an elderly man in the eastern county of Hualien who fell from a tree.
Over 700 sandbags have been distributed in his district, a record number for a typhoon, and authorities are still making more to meet demand, Chou said.
Taiwan’s defence ministry has announced that it had put more than 38,000 troops on standby for the meantime.
