An approaching typhoon bringing strong winds and torrential rainfall to Taiwan killed one person and injured dozens o🎶f others over the past few days and led to the evacuation o🐓f thousands from low-lying or mountainous areas.
At least 70 people were injured and one death died due🐭 to weather conditꦯions attributed to Typhoon Krathon, Taiwan's fire department said Wednesday.
One elderly man died after falling off a ladder while꧒ pruning tree branches in the eastern city of Hualien. Two others were missing.
The typhoon, packing maximum sustained winds of 173 kph and gusts of 209 kph, was expected to make lanღdfall early Thursday on Taiwan's densely populated west coast, according to the Central Weather Administration.
Typhoons rarely hit Taiwan's west coast, affecting instead the mountainous, eastern side🅺 of the island.
At least 128 centimeters of rain has fallen in coastal Taitung county in the♛ past four days and 43 centimeters in the major port city of Kaohsiung ahead of the typhoon.
Authorities shut scho⛎ols and government offices across the island and cancelled 𒈔all domestic flights.
In Hualien county, more than 3,000 people were evacuated from townships vulnerable to landslides. Almost 200 people in the southwestern city of Tainan and more than 800 residents of the southern Pingtung c🔯ounty were also evacuated.
Kaohsiung, a city of 2.7 million people expecte🧸d to be directly hit by the typhoon, evacuated more than 2,500 of its residents from areas prone to mudslides and landslides. Military personnel helped evacuees into trucks which took them to temporary shelters.
Most stores and restaurants in the city remained closed for a second consecutive day. Shoppers emptied supermarket shelves of essentials including bread,🦩 meat and instant noodles.
Streets and markets were eerily empty. An i🌄ndustrial harbor south of t♛he city was at a standstill.
Kaohsiung's international airport looked deserted, with all flights canceled. Chan Ka Who, who had traveled there꧟ from Malaysia on vacation, said he was trying to return home but was stuck in Kaohsiung because all flights were🃏 grounded.
On Wednesday evening, the typhoon wa🍃s centered about 110 kilometers southwest of Kaohsiung and was moving northeastward at around 8 kph. It has been weakening and will continue to do so after landfall, the weather adminisꦜtration said.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai earlier warned residents against 🍸approaching areas prone to flooding and landslides near rivers, the sea and the mountains. He likened Krathon's intensity to that of Typhoon Thelma, which in 1977 badly damaged Kaohsiung and caused 37 deaths.
Almost 40,000 troops were on stand♊by to help𓆏 with rescue efforts.
In Pingtung county, residents near a flooded harbor piled up sandbags at their doors to prevent water from getting in. People wad✨ed through streets flooded up to their ankles.
The typhoon on Monday lashed the northern Philippine islands, 🐼where four people were killed and at least 5,000 were displaced, officials said.