YILAN, Taiwan: Taiwan braces for the arrival of intensifying Typhoon Gami, with financial markets closed, people off work today and flights canceled, while the military remains on standby amid forecasts of heavy rain.
Typhoon Kemi, expected to be the most powerful storm to hit Taiwan in eight years, is set to make landfall on the northeast coast Wednesday evening, weather officials said.
They have upgraded the storm to a severe typhoon, packing winds of up to 227 kilometers per hour near its center.
After crossing the Taiwan Strait, it is likely to make landfall in southeastern China's Fujian Province in the late afternoon on Thursday.
“The next 24 hours will be a very serious challenge,” Taiwan Premier Cho Chung-tai said in a televised emergency response meeting.
In rural Yilan County, where the typhoon is expected to make landfall first, winds and rain are getting heavier, forcing restaurants to close as roads are mostly clear.
“This could be the biggest typhoon in recent years,” fishing boat captain Hung Chun told Reuters, adding that Yilan’s Suao port was full of ships seeking shelter.
“The storm is heading straight for the East Coast, and if it makes landfall here, the damage could be enormous.”
Work and school have been suspended across Taiwan, and streets in the capital Taipei are virtually deserted.
The government said more than 2,000 people had been evacuated from sparsely populated mountainous areas that were at high risk of landslides from the “extremely heavy rain.”
The Ministry of Transport said almost all domestic flights were cancelled, as well as 201 international flights.
All rail operations will be suspended from noon, with a shortened schedule for the high-speed connection between northern and southern Taiwan to remain open.
However, TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to Apple, said it expects its factories to maintain normal production during the typhoon after beginning normal preparations.
Soldiers stand beside
Forecasters predict the typhoon will bring up to 1,800 mm of rain to some mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan.
Taiwan's defense ministry said it has deployed 29,000 troops to provide assistance to those affected.
The typhoon has significantly curtailed this year's annual Han Kuang exercises, but they have not been canceled, with live-fire exercises scheduled to take place in the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Water Resources warned that Typhoon Kemi will bring heavy to very heavy rain to large areas of China from Thursday.
The areas are between the Pearl River basin in the south and the Songhua and Liao river basins on the northeastern border with Russia and North Korea, the report said Wednesday.
The rain is expected to continue until July 31st due to the high humidity of the typhoon.
Tropical Storm Kemi and the southwest monsoon brought heavy rains Wednesday to the Philippine National Capital Region and northern provinces, disrupting work and school, and halting stock and foreign exchange trading. The storm killed 12 people.
While typhoons can cause significant damage, Taiwan relies on them to replenish reservoirs after a generally dry winter, particularly in the south of the country.
