Typhoon Krathon, with sustained winds of 173 km/h and gusts of up to 209 km/h, was located 140 kilometers southwest of the southern city of Kaohsiung at 10 a.m. local time (0200 GMT), according to the Central Meteorological Administration (CWA).
Overnight, he was downgraded from the third and highest category to second. It should make landfall Thursday morning near Kaohsiung or Tainan (southwest), meteorologists now predict, after previously considering the date of Wednesday.
“This typhoon is moving very slowly,” described Cheng Chia-ping, head of the CWA, adding that the typhoon is expected to make landfall on Thursday around 10 a.m. local time before weakening quickly.
Nearly 10,000 people were evacuated from areas considered at risk as a precautionary measure, the Interior Ministry announced.
Across Taiwan, authorities recorded 46 people injured due to the typhoon, without providing further details. A person is missing offshore in Yunlin County (west), authorities also said.
President Lai Ching-te warned Tuesday that the typhoon could cause “catastrophic damage” and urged Taiwanese to be “particularly vigilant.”
All domestic flights and ferry trips are canceled on Wednesday, and 250 international flights have been suspended.
Nearly 40,000 soldiers are standing ready to take part in possible relief operations, the Defense Ministry said.
In Kaohsiung, authorities began distributing sandbags and materials to help drain the water.
In July, Typhoon Gaemi, the most powerful to hit the island in eight years, triggered widespread flooding in the city and killed at least 10 people in Taiwan – as well as around fifty in China in torrential rains, as a result during his visit, and at least 40 in the Philippines.
In the Philippines, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Wednesday that eight people were injured and another missing due to the passage of Krathon in the north of the country.
More than 5,400 people had to leave their homes, most of them in the northern regions of Ilocos and Cagayan Valley, the same source said.
Typhoons are common in the region at this time of year. However, a recent study concluded that they are forming closer to shore, gaining intensity more quickly and persisting longer after making landfall due to climate change.
