Taiwan woke up this Thursday with schools, offices, and financial markets closed due to the approach of Typhoon Kong-rey, which could make landfall this afternoon on the island's east coast, with winds exceeding 226 kilometers per hour (km/h). Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) has declared a marine and land typhoon alert throughout the island territory, including the peripheral archipelagos of Kinmen, Matsu, and Penghu, and has issued warnings for 'extremely torrential rains' in the mountainous areas of Taichung (central), Hualien, and Yilan (east).
With an approximate radius of 320 kilometers, this storm is the largest to threaten the island since Typhoon Herb, which caused more than 800 deaths during its passage through Taiwan, China, and the Japanese Ryukyu archipelago between July and August 1996. As of 10:15 local time (02:15 GMT), Kong-rey was about 88 kilometers southeast of the southeastern city of Taitung, moving northwest to north at a speed of between 19 and 28 kilometers per hour, with sustained winds of 183.6 km/h at its center and gusts of up to 226.8 kilometers per hour.
In a morning press conference, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin stated that the storm 'will continue to move rapidly' in the coming hours and is expected to make landfall on the island's eastern coast 'around noon or afternoon,' reaching the Taiwan Strait by night. The expert also warned of the possibility of 'destructive winds' in many areas of the archipelago.
Regarding precipitation levels, the typhoon has so far caused up to 490 millimeters of rainfall in Datong Township (Yilan County), 330 millimeters in the mountainous district of Heping (Taichung), and another 256.5 millimeters in the village of Jianshi (Hsinchu County, north). Authorities have opted to suspend classes and office work due to the storm's proximity, which has also led to the cancellation of all domestic flights scheduled for this Thursday and a reduction in high-speed train services.
Taiwan is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons: earlier this month, Typhoon Krathon left at least 4 dead, over 700 injured, and millions in losses for the island's agricultural sector.