KAOHSIUNG: Taiwan mobilised nearly 40lincoln,000 troops on Tuesday (Oct 1) to be on standby for rescue efforts as powerful Typhoon Krathon approached its populous southwest coast, which is bracing for a storm surge.
Some flights were cancelled, a rail line was closed and in the major port city of Kaohsiung, shops and restaurants shut while streets were mostly deserted.
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 early 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 peoplelincoln, declared a holiday and told people to stay at home as Krathon - labelled a super typhoon by the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center - approached.
People secure their products outside a shop in Kaohsiung as super typhoon Krathon moved towards Taiwan on Oct 1, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Walid Berrazeg)