Taiwanese authorities closed schools and offices on islands east of Taiwan on Wednesday, October 30, due to the approach of Typhoon Kong-rey, which risks causing landslides.
Strong winds and torrential rain are expected to hit the island of 23 million people before Kong-rey makes landfall in the southeast on Thursday afternoon, according to forecasts. Kong-rey is preceded by winds of up to 240 km/h as it approaches Taiwan, according to the latest bulletin from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, a US military meteorological center.
Yilan in the northeast and the Hualien region in the east are expected to be the worst affected, with rainfall reaching at least 800 millimeters between Thursday and Friday, the meteorologist told Agence France-Presse.
Heavy rains expected
“Given the predicted path of the typhoon, we advise [aux habitants] of Yilan, Hualien and Taitung to take precautions against landslides and falling debris in the areas expected to be the most affected by heavy rain.”Mr. Chang added.
According to Taiwan’s Central Meteorological Administration, the heaviest rainfall is expected on the eastern and northern coasts of Taiwan, as well as in the mountains of the central and southern regions.
Classes and office work have been suspended on the two islands off the Taitung region, where the typhoon is expected to hit directly. Ferry service between the Taiwanese island of Kinmen and the Chinese city of Xiamen was also suspended.
The island of Taiwan is accustomed to tropical storms, common from July to October, but it is quite unusual for such a powerful typhoon to hit the island at this time of year, Chang notes. Scientists say climate change is increasing the intensity of storms, with heavy downpours, flash flooding and powerful wind gusts.
In July, Typhoon Gaemi, the most powerful to hit Taiwan in eight years, left at least ten dead and hundreds injured. It was followed by Krathon, which devastated southern Taiwan in early October, accompanied by destructive winds, floods and landslides, leaving at least four people dead and hundreds injured.
