Krathon downgraded to tropical storm, still battering Taiwan

Taipei, Oct. 3 (CNA) Typhoon Krathon was downgraded to a tropical storm Thursday afternoon, as had weakened, but heavy rains and strong winds were forecast to continue across most of Taiwan Thursday night, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, the eye of the storm, which made landfall at around noon, was located about 30 kilometers north-northeast of Kaohsiung, CWA data showed.

Krathon's forward speed had slowed from 6 kilometers per hour to 4 kph, as it tracked northward over Taiwan, packing maximum sustained winds of 108 kph, with gusts of up to 136.8 kph, according to the CWA.

While the storm was weakening, the sea and land warnings for Taiwan remained in effect, CWA forecaster Lin Ping-yu (林秉煜) said.

Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung in the south, as well as Taitung and Hualien in the east, and Keelung and the northern coastal areas will continue to see rain Thursday night, Lin said.

An "extremely heavy rain" warning has been issued for the cities of Keelung, New Taipei, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung, while Taipei and Hualien County were warned of torrential rain.

The CWA defines extremely heavy rain as accumulated rainfall of 200 millimeters or more within 24 hours, while torrential rain refers to rainfall of 350 mm or more, and extremely torrential rain is rainfall of 500 mm or more.

According to CWA data, as of 5 p.m. on Thursday, Keelung's Ren'ai District had recorded 363 millimeters of accumulated rainfall, while Ruifang District in New Taipei and Renwu District in Kaohsiung had received 573.5 mm and 445 mm of accumulated rainfall, respectively.

Meanwhile, a strong wind advisory remained in effect for most of the country, excluding only Taipei City and Nantou, Yilan and Hualien counties.

Lin warned of winds of up to 117 kph in the southern half of the country and on the islands of Penghu and Matsu.

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, two deaths and 219 injuries from the storm had been reported across Taiwan, while one person was missing, according to the latest figures from the Central Emergency Operation Center.