Typhoon Krathon made landfall on Thursday in southern Taiwan, which had been sealed off two days before the arrival of the powerful tropical cyclone which has already left two dead and more than 100 injured.
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” (04:40 GMT) in the south of the island, announced the Central Meteorological Administration of Taiwan (CWA).
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.
A 70-year-old man who fell on Tuesday while pruning trees in Hualien County (east) died in hospital on Wednesday.
Another man, aged 66 and hospitalized Monday near Taitung, in the southeast, after a collision between his truck and a rock that fell on the road, died on Wednesday.
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.
Tropical storms are common in Taiwan from July to October. 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.
In July, Typhoon Gaemi, the most powerful to hit the island in eight years, triggered widespread flooding in Kaohsiung and killed at least ten people in Taiwan, as well as around fifty in China in torrential rains, the result of his passage, and at least 40 in the Philippines.
