Taiwan Government had issued a warning on Monday ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Krathon, which has intensified into the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane and is expected to cross the thickly populated west coast bringing with it, torrential rain and strong winds.
Taiwan is constantly assaulted by typhoons but they usually land along the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast facing the Pacific.
Krathon is predicted to hit the major port city of Kaohsiung early Wednesday afternoon, and afterwards, work its way across the centre of Taiwan heading northeast and cross out into the East China Sea, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).
According to Tropical Storm Risk, the typhoon has strengthened into the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane, carrying powerful winds of over 210 kph (125 mph) close to its centre,
With officials warning the residents there to brace themselves for extreme winds of over 150 kph (93 mph).
Kaohsiung Mayor, Chen Chi-mai had informed reporters that the city should brace itself for a destructive storm, adding 1,690 people have been evacuated from danger zones so far.
Taiwan authorities have said that more than 1,000 rubber boats and 15,000 soldiers have been dispatched, to be on standby across Taiwan, including on the eastern coast where up to 1.3 metres (four feet) of rain was expected in the coming days.
Already, boats to Taiwan’s outlying islands have been cancelled, with some domestic flights also being disrupted.
The transport ministry had also announced that the rail line connecting southern Taiwan to the east coast stopped running mid-afternoon Monday, although other services including the north-south high speed railway were still operating as normal.
It added that international flights have not yet disrupted.
In July, Typhoon Gaemi killed about 11 people in Taiwan.
