Taiwan issues storm warning from powerful Typhoon Krathon and mobilizes troops

Taiwan mobilized nearly 40,000 troops on Tuesday to boost rescue efforts as 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 is regularly hit by typhoons, but they generally make landfall along the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast that faces the Pacific, but this will land on the island’s flat western plain.

Krathon is forecast to hit the major port city of Kaohsiung on Wednesday morning, then cross central Taiwan heading northeast and cross into the East China Sea, the Central Meteorological Administration (CWA) said.

Kaohsiung, home to about 2.7 million people, declared a holiday and told people to stay home as Krathon — labeled a super typhoon by the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center — approached.

Li Meng-hsiang, a forecaster for Taiwan’s Central Meteorological Administration, said the storm had reached maximum intensity and could weaken slightly as it approached Taiwan, warning of gusts of more than 150 km/h (93 mph). for the southwest.

“The storm oval could bring tides inland,” Li said. “If it rains heavily, it will be difficult to evacuate the waters and consequently the 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 Typhoon Thelma in 1977, which killed 37 people and devastated the city.

Residents should not go to the coast, mountains or near rivers and avoid going outside unless necessary, the city government said.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it had put more than 38,000 troops on standby as residents of Kaohsiung made their own preparations.

“It will hit us directly. We have to be fully prepared,” said fisherman Chen Ming-huang as he tightened the ropes on his boat in Kaohsiung harbor. “At worst, the ropes could break and my boat could drift.”

TSMC, the world’s largest chipmaker and a major supplier to Apple and Nvidia and which has a large factory in Tainan, said it had activated routine preparations for the typhoon and did not expect a significant impact on its operations.

Looking for sailors

Off the southeast coast, Taiwan’s coast guard sent a boat to rescue 19 sailors from the cargo ship Blue Lagoon, who were forced to abandon ship as it took on water in its engine room, a helicopter rescue having to turn back due to wind and rain.

The coast guard said the crew consisted of seven Ukrainians, nine Egyptians and three Russians, who had left China’s Caofeidian port for Singapore.

The Transport Ministry said 85 domestic and nine international flights were canceled for Wednesday, and boats to outlying islands were also grounded.

The rail line connecting southern to eastern Taiwan was closed, although the north-south high-speed line was operating normally, albeit with improved safety checks for wind and debris.

In Kaohsiung, most shops and restaurants closed their doors and shutters, and the traditional wet markets closed with the streets largely deserted.

In a building in Siaogang District, home to the city’s airport, residents practiced how to quickly install metal barriers to stop water flooding into the underground parking lot.

“We will only have a few minutes to react if the floods come,” said Chiu Yun-ping, deputy head of the building’s residents’ committee.

Chen Mei-ling, who lives near the port, said that in past typhoons, high tides reached just a few meters (feet) from the front door of his house and that he had made preparations.

“We have torches and emergency food supplies,” Chen said. “It is a strong typhoon and we are worried.”

(Reporting by Yimou Lee, Fabian Hamacher and Ann Wang; Writing by Ben Blanchard, Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

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Catastrophe Natural disasters Storm