Northern Taiwan closed businesses and schools on Thursday while airlines canceled dozens of flights as slow-moving Typhoon Khanun skirted the island’s northeast amid warnings of flooding and strong winds.
Typhoon Khanun, categorized as the second-strongest category typhoon by the Taiwan Meteorological Agency, slowly headed toward the northeast coast with maximum winds of 198 km/h (123 mph). As of 1:15 p.m. Taipei time (0515 GMT), the eye of the typhoon was 340 km from Taipei in the East China Sea and was heading west at about 3 km/h.
The storm was expected to sweep past Taiwan’s northern coast late Thursday before turning sharply northeast on Friday, bringing rainfall totals of up to 0.6 meters (2 feet) in mountainous central Taiwan and 0.3 meters in mountains near Taipei.
Cities in the north, including the capital Taipei, closed businesses and schools. Taiwan’s stock and foreign exchange markets were also closed. More than 110 international and domestic flights were canceled and all domestic ferry services were suspended.
In Taipei, rain and wind downed dozens of streets and trees, while subway services were limited and food delivery services were suspended. Hundreds of troops were on standby in nearby towns to respond to the disaster.
The storm knocked out power to more than 16,000 homes across Taiwan, although most have been restored.
Typhoon Khanun has killed two people, injured at least 62 people and knocked out power to more than 200,000 homes in the popular Japanese tourist destination of Okinawa in the past two days. Typhoon Khanun comes just a week after Typhoon Doksuri brought heavy rains and strong winds to southern Taiwan.
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