A typhoon is preparing to hit Taiwan in the coming hours. Krathon – its name – will go up the island on an axis going from the South-West to the North-East. It is expected to make landfall in one of the densest areas of the country, including the cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan.
This animation provided by The Weather Channel demonstrates the size of this meteorological monster and shows that its eye is both well-shaped and large. The wind blows on average at 230 km/h in the strongest zone, which corresponds to category 4 out of 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, in force in the North Atlantic.
From category 3, a hurricane is considered major. Krathon’s average winds, which are measured at a height of 10 m for one minute, are even very close to making it a category 5 typhoon. The threshold for entry into this extreme category is set at 251 km/h. In all cases, maximum gusts are already close to 300 km/h.
As always with this type of phenomenon, even more than the winds, it is the precipitation which is dangerous. Typhoons, cyclones and hurricanes, which are the same phenomenon but with a different name depending on the region of the world, cause more deaths due to flooding than due to gusts.
In anticipation of Krathon’s arrival, schools were closed and thousands of people began to be evacuated. Tens of thousands of soldiers are ready to come to the aid of civilians. Around fifteen people have already been injured due to deteriorating weather conditions as the typhoon approaches. It is expected to weaken as it crosses the island.
