Krathon downgraded to tropical depression; typhoon warning lifted (update)

Taipei, Oct. 4 (CNA) Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) has further downgraded the classification of the storm that had been Typhoon Krathon and lifted both sea and land typhoon warnings.

The agency first downgraded Krathon from a tropical storm to a tropical depression at around 5 a.m. Friday, followed by the cancellation of the typhoon warnings at 5:30 a.m.

Krathon's structure continued to break down after that, and by 8 a.m. it had weakened further into a regular low-pressure system, the CWA noted.

The center of the storm's remnants was nearly stationary on Friday morning, lingering northeast of Kaohsiung, where it first made landfall at 12:40 p.m. on Thursday after its sluggish pace prompted forecasters into believing it should have arrived in Taiwan days earlier.

Due to the low-pressure system, the CWA issued an extremely heavy rain advisory for the coastal and mountainous areas of Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei and Taitung County on Friday, while a heavy rain advisory was issued for Pingtung, Yilan, and Hualien counties and the city of Kaohsiung.

A strong wind advisory has also been issued for open and coastal areas in Taoyuan and from Hsinchu to Yunlin counties and the outlying Penghu and Matsu islands.

The CWA said Taoyuan, Penghu, Matsu could be battered by gale-force 9 to 10 winds on the Beaufort scale, ranging from about 75 to 102 kilometers per hour, while force 8 to 9 winds could be experienced along the coast from Hsinchu to Yunlin.

Force 12 winds are considered to be typhoon strength winds.

Ongoing gusts will likely be observed on the Taiwan Strait and on waters north of Taiwan, and they could generate waves 3 to 5 meters high.

Swells can also be expected in waters near the coastal areas of Taiwan and its outlying islands, the CWA said.

Though the storm has largely dissipated, it left traffic disruptions in some areas in its wake.

Heavy rain early Friday morning caused a large mudslide from the hills by Keelung's Xinfeng Street, which prompted the city government to shut off the road around the area.

The city's Department of Public Works entered the area to clear out the debris, while the city's fire bureau said upon arriving at the site of the disaster by 7 a.m. Friday that it had not received any reports of anyone being buried by the landslide.

Meanwhile, the Taiwan Railway Corp. said it was planning to resume train service around Taiwan after conducting post-typhoon safety inspections.

Due to heavy rain, however, it has suspended operations on its Shen'ao and Pingxi lines.