Taiwan shuts down, braces for arrival of Super Typhoon Kong-rey

Biggest typhoon successful decades volition deed Taiwan wherever schools and businesses person been suspended amid dense rains, winds.

Business and schools person unopen crossed Taiwan and hundreds of flights were cancelled arsenic millions of radical brace for the accomplishment of Super Typhoon Kong-rey, 1 of the astir almighty storms to endanger the land successful decades.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence has enactment 36,000 troops connected standby to assistance with rescue efforts, portion 1,300 radical person been evacuated from high-risk areas successful beforehand of the typhoon, which is forecast to marque landfall connected the island’s sparsely-populated eastbound seashore astatine astir 2:00pm (06:00 GMT) connected Thursday.

With a tempest radius of 320km (198 miles), Taiwan’s upwind medication said Kong-rey would beryllium the biggest typhoon by size to deed the land since 1996.

“The size of the tempest is precise large, and the winds are high,” upwind medication forecaster Gene Huang said.

Up to 1.2 metres (3.9 feet) of rainfall is expected successful eastbound Taiwan with damaging upwind speeds on coastal areas, according to the administration.

Warnings person been issued for destructive winds of much than 160 kilometres per hr (99 miles per hour) successful the eastbound region of Taitung, whose outlying Lanyu land recorded gusts supra 260km/h (162mph) earlier immoderate of the upwind barometers determination went offline.

Police cheque connected roofing destroyed by the winds of Typhoon Kong-rey successful Hualien County, eastbound Taiwan, connected Thursday [Hualien County Fire Department via AP Photo]

The tempest is presently much almighty than Typhoon Gaemi, which was the strongest typhoon to deed Taiwan successful 8 years erstwhile it made landfall successful July.

“Its interaction connected the full Taiwan volition beryllium rather severe,” Chu Mei-lin, of the country’s Central Weather Administration, told a briefing.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Transport said 298 planetary flights person been cancelled, on with each home flights and 139 ferry services to and from outlying islands.

Residents successful the superior Taipei said dense rainfall was battering the metropolis up of the typhoon’s landfall, portion the metropolis authorities said overground parts of the subway strategy had stopped operations arsenic the upwind was excessively strong.

At slightest 27 radical person been injured successful the chaotic upwind truthful far, with trees being knocked down and 4 mudslides recorded, the National Fire Agency said Thursday, without providing details.

Kong-rey is forecast to graze China on the seashore of Fujian state connected Friday morning.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies