Typhoon Krathon hits Taiwan, killing at least two people | Climate News

Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taiwan's largest port city of Kaohsiung on Thursday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to the south of the island.

Trees were downed by strong winds and roads were flooded, causing schools and businesses to close. At least two people died in the storm and thousands were evacuated.

The typhoon was expected to slowly move north and weaken into a tropical depression by Friday before reaching the capital Taipei. It was then supposed to travel across the Taiwan Strait towards the Chinese coast. There were strong winds in Taipei on Thursday, but there was little rain.

In southern Pingtung, the typhoon hampered rescue efforts after a fire ravaged a hospital, killing nine people.

Kaohsiung residents were told by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) to “seek shelter as quickly as possible” before Kraathon made landfall there with wind gusts of 162 km/h (100 mph).

The CWA later downgraded Krathon to a tropical storm, but warned that strong winds were still expected over Taiwan and heavy rains were expected in some regions.

The Kaohsiung city government said offices and schools would remain closed on Friday after torrential rains and strong winds disrupted power and water supplies and triggered flooding in some areas.

About 11,000 people had been evacuated across Taiwan as of Thursday, according to the Interior Ministry.

According to the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Krathon reached Taiwan after initially blowing up a remote group of Philippine islands, leaving one dead, one missing and eight injured and damaging more than 300 homes.