Businesses and schools across Taiwan have closed, and hundreds of flights have been canceled as millions prepare for the arrival of Super Typhoon Kong-rey, one of the most powerful storms to threaten the island in decades.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence has placed 36,000 troops on standby for rescue operations, while 1,300 individuals have been evacuated from high-risk areas ahead of the typhoon, which is expected to make landfall on the island’s sparsely populated east coast around 2:00 PM (06:00 GMT) on Thursday. With a storm radius of 320 km (198 miles), Kong-rey is projected to be the largest typhoon to strike Taiwan since 1996.
“The size of the storm is immense, and the winds are severe,” said weather forecaster Gene Huang. Eastern Taiwan could see up to 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) of rainfall, with damaging winds anticipated along coastal regions.
Warnings have been issued for destructive winds exceeding 160 kilometers per hour (99 miles per hour) in the eastern county of Taitung. Lanyu Island, part of Taitung, recorded gusts above 260 km/h (162 mph) before some wind monitoring devices went offline.
Kong-rey is currently more powerful than Typhoon Gaemi, which was the strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan in eight years when it made landfall in July.
Chu Mei-lin from the Central Weather Administration warned that the storm’s impact on the entire island will be significant. The Ministry of Transport has reported the cancellation of 298 international flights, along with all domestic flights and 139 ferry services to outlying islands.
In the capital, Taipei, heavy rain is already affecting the city, prompting the subway system to halt operations on above-ground sections due to strong winds. At least 27 people have been injured so far, with reports of downed trees and four mudslides, according to the National Fire Agency.
Kong-rey is forecast to graze China along the Fujian coast on Friday morning.
