Hello and welcome to the details of Taiwan warns of storm surge from powerful Typhoon Krathon, mobilises troops and now with the details
Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - A person takes photos of the wave as Typhoon Krathon approaches Kaohsiung, Taiwan October 1, 2024. — Reuters pic
KAOHSIUNG (Taiwan), Oct 1 — Taiwan mobilised nearly 40,000 troops today to bolster rescue efforts as the powerful Typhoon Krathon approaching its populous southwest coast is expected to bring a storm surge and the coast guard raced to locate 19 sailors who abandoned ship.
Taiwan regularly gets hit by typhoons but they generally land along the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast facing the Pacific, but this one will make landfall on the island’s flat western plain.
Krathon is forecast to hit the major port city of Kaohsiung on Wednesday morning, then work its way across the centre of Taiwan heading northeast and cross out into the East China Sea, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
Kaohsiung, home to some 2.7 million people, declared a holiday and told people to stay at home as Krathon approached and is expected to hit as a category 4 storm according to Tropical Storm Risk.
Li Meng-hsiang, a forecaster for Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, said the storm has reached its maximum intensity and could weaken slightly as it moves closer to Taiwan, warning of gusts of more than 150 kph (93 mph) for the southwest.
“The storm surge might bring tides inland,” Li said. “If it’s raining heavily it will make it difficult to discharge waters and as a result coastal areas will be subject to flooding.”
Taiwan’s defence ministry said it had put more than 38,000 troops on standby, as Kaohsiung residents made their own preparations.
“It’s going to strike us directly. We must be fully prepared,” said fisherman Chen Ming-huang, as he tightened ropes on his boat in Kaohsiung harbour. “In the worst case scenario the ropes might snap and my boat could drift away.”
Off the southeast coast, Taiwan’s coast guard dispatched a boat to rescue 19 sailors from the cargo vessel Blue Lagoon who were forced to abandon ship as it took on water in its engine room, with a rescue helicopter having to turn back due to the wind and rain.
The coast guard said the crew consisted of seven Ukrainians, nine Egyptians and three Russians, which had set off from China’s Caofeidian port for Singapore.
The transport ministry said 85 domestic flights and nine international ones had been cancelled for Wednesday, with boats to outlying islands also stopped.
In Kaohsiung, most shops and restaurants pulled down their doors and shutters, and traditional wet markets shut with streets mostly deserted.
Chen Mei-ling, who lives near the harbour, said in past typhoons high tides reached just a few metres (feet) from her house’s main door and she had made preparations.
“We’ve got torches and emergency food supplies,” Chen said. “It’s a strong typhoon and we are worried.” — Reuters
These were the details of the news Taiwan warns of storm surge from powerful Typhoon Krathon, mobilises troops for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.
It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Malay Mail and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.
