In rural Yilan county, where the typhoon will first hit land, wind and rain gathered strength, shutting breakfast eateries and roads mostly emptied.
“This could be the biggest typhoon in recent years,” fishing boat captain Hung Chun told Reuters, adding Yilan’s Suao harbour was packed with boats seeking shelter.
“It’s charging directly towards the east coast and if it makes landfall here the damage would be enormous.”
Work and school were suspended across the whole of Taiwan, with the streets of capital Taipei almost deserted during what is normally rush hour amid squally rain.
The transport ministry said almost all domestic flights had been cancelled, along with 27 international flights.
However, TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple supplier, said it expected all its factories would maintain normal production during the typhoon, adding it had activated routine preparation procedures.
Some mountainous central and southern Taiwan counties are expected to see total rainfall of up to 1,800mm during the typhoon, the weather administration said.
More than 2,000 people have been evacuated from sparsely populated mountain areas, the government said, which are at high risk of landslides from the “extremely torrential rain”.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said it was ready to assist with disaster relief and had put its forces on standby.
While the typhoon has severely curtailed this year’s annual Han Kuang war games they have not been totally cancelled, with live fire drills taking place as scheduled on the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday morning.
Ahead of the typhoon hitting China, several coastal provinces began preparing with Fujian raising emergency response plans. China’s State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters also issued a heightened emergency response for flooding in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces.
Forecasters expect heavy rainfall across several provinces over the coming days as the typhoon makes its way north.
Gaemi and a southwest monsoon brought heavy rain on Wednesday to the Philippine capital region and northern provinces, prompting authorities to halt work and classes, while stock and foreign exchange trading were suspended.
While typhoons can be highly destructive, Taiwan also relies on them to replenish reservoirs after the traditionally drier winter months, especially for the southern part of the island.
Source link : https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/taiwan-yilan-typhoon-gaemi-financial-markets-closed-cancelled-flights-4500561
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Publish date : 2024-07-23 21:20:00
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