KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan — Taiwan mobilised nearly 40,000 troops on Tuesday to bolster rescue efforts as the powerful Typhoon Krathon approaching its populous southwest coast is expected to bring a storm surge and the coast guard raced to locate 19 sailors who abandoned ship.
Taiwan regularly gets hit by typhoons but they generally land along the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast facing the Pacific, but this one will make landfall on the island’s flat western plain.
Krathon is forecast to hit the major port city of Kaohsiung on Wednesday morning, then work its way across the centre of Taiwan heading northeast and cross out into the East China Sea, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
Kaohsiung, home to some 2.7 million people, declared a holiday and told people to stay at home as Krathon – labelled a super typhoon by the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center – approached.
Li Meng-hsiang, a forecaster for Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, said the storm has reached its maximum intensity and could weaken slightly as it moves closer to Taiwan, warning of gusts of more than 150 kph (93 mph) for the southwest.
“The storm surge might bring tides inland,” Li said. “If it’s raining heavily it will make it difficult to discharge waters and as a result coastal areas will be subject to flooding.”
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai told a disaster management meeting that the storm was “no less powerful” than 1977’s Typhoon Thelma which killed 37 people and devastated the city.
Residents must not go to the coast, mountains or near rivers and avoid going outside unless necessary, the city government cited him as saying.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said it had put more than 38,000 troops on standby, as Kaohsiung residents made their own preparations.
REUTERS
