Kaohsiung, Tainan evacuate residents ahead of storm

Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) Kaohsiung and Tainan evacuated residents living in areas prone to mudslides or landslides as a precaution Tuesday night prior to the arrival of Typhoon Krathon, which is forecast to make landfall in southern Taiwan early Thursday.

The Central Weather Administration has forecast that the storm is likely to move north along the valley of the Gaoping River after making landfall, which could bring heavy rainfall and landslides in mountainous areas in southern Taiwan.

At the same time, the Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation has issued different levels of "yellow" warnings for mudslides and more serious landslides in mountainous areas in Kaohsiung.

A yellow mudslide warning was issued for several locations in the city's Taoyuan, Maolin, Namasia and Liouguei districts, and a yellow massive landslide warning for locations in Maolin and Liouguei on Wednesday.

Given the approaching storm and concerns over landslides, Kaohsiung has evacuated a total of 2,258 people from 12 areas prone to mudslides, 132 from potential massive landslide locations, and 110 high-risk patients and pregnant women, the city government said.

The city's Social Affairs Bureau has also set up 13 makeshift shelters, where 228 people have been accommodated.

As the storm approached, most public transportation services in Kaohsiung were suspended or cut on Wednesday.

The city's Transportation Bureau said the city's bus and bus-style taxi services have all been suspended until the typhoon passes, while the city's YouBike and light rail systems and ferry services between downtown and Cijin District were shut down Wednesday.

Service on the Kaohsiung subway system was limited, with trains running at a frequency of every 20 minutes, it said.

Bullet train services to Kaohsiung were cut to a single train every two hours on Wednesday, and the operations of Taiwan Railway Corp. trains on the western line, eastern line that require seat reservations and South Link Line link were suspended for the day.

In terms of air travel, all international and domestic flights scheduled to depart from or arrive in Kaohsiung on Wednesday were canceled, according to Kaohsiung International Airport's flight status information.

Meanwhile, Tainan also evacuated 621 people from 12 districts as the storm approached.

Rain and winds have intensified across the city, with Jiali District receiving the highest amount of rain Wednesday at 93 millimeters as of 2 p.m.

At 2 p.m. Wednesday, the center of Typhoon Krathon was located 130 kilometers southwest of Kaohsiung and is moving northeast at 9 kilometers per hour, according to data from the Central Weather Administration.

With a radius of 220 km, the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 162 kph, with gusts of up to 198 kph, the data showed.

For more details on the current weather in Taiwan, please visit the Central Weather Administration website. 

Update

Oct. 2: Offices, schools to close again on Thursday due to typhoon

Oct. 2: Typhoon Krathon to make landfall late Wednesday night at earliest: CWA