Typhoon Krathon left at least two dead, two missing and 123 injured before making landfall in southern Taiwan, which again decreed this Thursday the closure of government offices, schools and financial markets due to the advance of the storm.
The deceased is a 70-year-old man from eastern Hualien County.died in hospital after falling from a height of three meters, and a 66-year-old man from eastern Taitung Countywhose car collided with a rock while traveling on the road, according to the latest data from the Central Disaster Response Command.
As of 8:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. Spanish time), a total of 9,967 people had been evacuated in 13 counties and cities across Taiwan due to the typhoon, which also caused power outages to more than 109,000 homes.
The island’s 22 jurisdictions, including the outlying archipelagos of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu, once again suspended administrative and school activities on Thursday, and more than 200 flights departing from or arriving at Taoyuan International Airport were suspended. been canceled.
At 11:30 a.m. local time (4:15 a.m. CET), the storm was about 20 kilometers southwest of Kaohsiung, a major port city in southern Taiwan, and was moving northeast to north at a speed of 8 to 4 kilometers per hour.
With a radius of 180 kilometers, the storm brings sustained winds of 126 km/h and gusts of up to 162 km/h..
At a morning news conference, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua said the typhoon’s intensity and range had “slightly” decreased Thursday evening.
“The typhoon is expected to make landfall in southern Taiwan around noon and its intensity will decrease rapidly thereafter,” the expert warned.
According to storm tracking platform Zoom.earth, Krathon will make landfall between the cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan in the afternoon with winds of around 140 km/h, and on Friday it will become a “low remnant” storm after crossing the western half of Taiwan.
Taiwan is particularly susceptible to natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons: in late July, Typhoon Gaemi caused at least 10 deaths, more than 900 injuries and millions of losses in Taiwan’s agricultural and fishing sectors. island.
