Powerful Typhoon Krathon forecast to hit Taiwan’s populated west coast

TAIPEI – Taiwan issued a land warning on Sept 30 ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Krathon, which has strengthened considerably and is expected to cross the densely populated west coast bringing torrential rain and strong wind.

Taiwan regularly gets hit by typhoons, but they generally land along the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast facing the Pacific.

Krathon, categorised as a medium-strength typhoon

, is forecast to hit the major port city of Kaohsiung early on Oct 2, then work its way across the centre of Taiwan heading north-east and cross out into the East China Sea, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.

The typhoon has strengthened into the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane, packing powerful winds of more than 210kmh near its centre, according to Tropical Storm Risk.

“The impact is getting bigger and bigger,” said CWA forecaster Gene Huang, pointing to threats to Taiwan’s south-west and adding that it was “rare” for such a powerful typhoon to make a direct hit to the island’s western plains.

“It’s a first in history for a typhoon with such movement and intensity,” Mr Huang said.

He warned residents there to be prepared for extreme winds of more than 150kmh.

The Taiwan authorities said more than 1,000 rubber boats and 2,200 soldiers were on standby across Taiwan, including on the eastern coast where up to 1.3m of rain was expected in the coming days.

“All military hospitals have set up emergency medical teams and they are ready to support any time,” said Defence Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang.

Boats to Taiwan’s outlying islands have already been cancelled and some domestic flights have been disrupted.

The rail line connecting southern Taiwan to the east coast stopped running mid-afternoon on Sept 30, though other services, including the north-south high-speed railway, were operating as normal, the Transport Ministry said.

It added that international flights were not yet impacted.

In July, Typhoon Gaemi killed at least 11 people in Taiwan. REUTERS