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Krathon made landfall in the industrial Siaogang district of
Kaohsiung around 12:40 p.m., the Central Weather Administration
said. It packed maximum sustained winds of 126 kph (78 mph) with
gusts of 162 kph (101 mph).
The typhoon was forecast to move slowly north and weaken into a
tropical depression by Friday before it reaches the capital,
Taipei. It was expected to then head across the Taiwan Strait
toward the Chinese coast. Winds were strong in Taipei on
Thursday, but there was little rain.
Kaohsiung earlier urged its residents to take cover from
potentially disastrous winds and rain, which tore down
storefronts and flooded car parks but caused no reported loss of
life.
The slow-moving typhoon, which approached Taiwan at a speed of
about 4 kph (2.5 mph), doused eastern and southern parts of the
island over the past five days, forcing thousands to evacuate
from mountainous or low-lying areas. Two days of closures are
believed to have taken a significant toll on the island's
high-tech economy that relies heavily on foreign trade.
Gusts and heavy rains pelted empty streets in Kaohsiung, while
life in Taipei, 350 kilometers (215 miles) to the north, was
only slightly disrupted.
Many residents woke up Thursday to mobile phone alerts urging
them to take shelter from the potentially dangerous winds. The
weather administration posted a Facebook message warning
Kaohsiung and Pingtung county residents not to go outside when
the eye of the storm passes above their area and the weather
calms briefly, because the winds would pick up again afterward.
Weather-related events attributed to Krathon injured at least
123 people around the island, according to Taiwan’s fire
department. Two people died — one after driving into fallen
rocks on the road in the southeastern Taitung county, and the
other while trimming tree branches in the city of Hualien. Two
others remained missing.
A fire at a hospital in Pingtung County killed at least nine
people early Thursday. The deaths were attributed to smoke and
the cause was under investigation. It was not immediately clear
whether the blaze was related to the typhoon.
Thousands were evacuated from areas vulnerable to mudslides and
landslides. Almost 40,000 troops were on standby to help with
rescue efforts.
Mountainous areas in the island’s south have received up to 169
centimeters (5.5 feet) of rain over the past five days.
China's weather agency said some eastern and southern parts of
Taiwan are set to receive extremely heavy rains of up to 40
centimeters (1.3 feet) over the next 24 hours.
Typhoons rarely hit Taiwan’s west coast, affecting instead the
mountainous eastern side of the island.
Kaohsiung officials, in urging residents to be vigilant about
the weather, recalled the destruction brought by Typhoon Thelma,
which in 1977 badly damaged the city and caused 37 deaths.
Earlier in the week, Typhoon Krathon lashed northern Philippine
islands, killing four people and displacing at least 5,000,
officials said.
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