The typhoon was preceded by strong winds of 126 km/h with gusts of up to 162 km/h and heavy rain.
“Typhoon Krathon made landfall near the Xiaogang district of Kaohsiung around 12:40 p.m. today” (06:40 a.m. BST) in the south of the island, the Taiwan Central Meteorological Administration (CWA) announced.
Schools and offices on the island have remained closed since Wednesday and residents of the port city of Kaohsiung, in the south of the island, had been urged to take shelter.
“There will be destructive winds in this area. Take shelter as soon as possible,” meteorologists warned in messages sent to area residents’ cell phones on Thursday.
The typhoon has already brought torrential rains and strong winds to the island.
The authorities recorded two deaths, two missing and more than 100 injured.
Krathon disrupts air traffic, leading to the suspension of all domestic flights on Thursday for the second consecutive day.
The typhoon also caused temporary power cuts to nearly 55,000 homes, according to authorities.
