Typhoon Krathon – live: Taiwan tells millions to seek shelter as slow-moving storm makes landfall
Hundreds of international flights disrupted for third day
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Residents in Taiwan were told to seek shelter as Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taiwan, with the island fully shut for the second day.
Krathon, a slow moving storm which has been lashing Taiwan since Monday, slammed into the major port city Kaohsiung as a much weaker Category 1 typhoon around midday.
Early this morning residents in the city of some 2.7 million people received texted warnings telling them to seek shelter from gusts of more than 160 kmph (100 mph).
At least two people have died in Taiwan from extreme weather caused by Krathon, both elderly men.
Earlier, two people were killed in the Philippines when the storm lashed the northern islands of the archipelago.
All domestic flights were cancelled for a second day, as well as 236 international ones. The north-south high speed rail line suspended services and Taiwan’s financial markets also closed for a second day.
The typhoon is forecast to slowly work its way up Taiwan’s flat western plain and weaken further into a tropical depression by late Friday before reaching the capital Taipei.
Typhoon Krathon brings back memories of Thelma
Residents in Taiwan were collecting sandbags, taping glass windows and stocking groceries as authorities urged people to stay at home.
"Because of Typhoon Gaemi being quite severe earlier this year, everyone is more cautious and prepared this time around," sales representative Yu Ren-yu, 35, told Reuters, picking up sandbags at a government office, referring to July's storm that killed 11 people.
"First be prepared, then we can face this typhoon."
People are very prepared this time, said Chou Yi-tang, a government official working in the Siaogang district home to the airport.
For many older residents, the storm brought back memories of the devastation caused by Typhoon Thelma five decades ago.
"We were hit directly by the eyewall," he added, describing events of Typhoon Thelma. "Power was out for two weeks and no water for almost a month. It was disastrous."
More than 700 sandbags have been distributed in his district, a record for a typhoon, while authorities are making more to meet demand, he told the agency.
Photos: Passengers wait at airports amid cancellations and delays
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