(Bloomberg) -- Typhoon Krathon tracked toward Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain, with the storm set to make landfall early Thursday and potentially keep the island’s $2.5 trillion stock market closed for a second day.
Krathon has maximum sustained winds of 173 kilometers (107 miles) per hour, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration. The intensity of the storm has weakened as it moved closer to the island, but the system is still equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.
Schools, offices and ports are closed across Taiwan, and the weather bureau expects large parts of the east and southeast to receive torrential rain over the next 24 hours. Some mountainous areas could get as much as 70 centimeters (28 inches), according to forecasts from the CWA.
Krathon was 140 kilometers southwest of Kaohsiung as of 10:15 a.m. local time, the CWA said. At least 16 counties and cities are forecast to meet the rain and wind strength requirements for another day of school and office closures tomorrow, according to local media.
“The typhoon is moving very slowly,” CWA Forecaster Wu Wan-hua said at an online briefing on Wednesday. “Although the intensity has weakened, it will still affect us with strong wind and heavy rains.”
Taipei is set to see lighter rain and winds, but municipal governments have discretion on further work and school suspensions. If the Taiwan stock exchange extends its closure through Thursday, it would be the market’s second two-day shutdown this year after Typhoon Gaemi in July.
Evacuations, Flight Disruptions
Over 10,000 people have been evacuated across Taiwan, according to the Central Emergency Operation Center, with 46 people reported injured and 1 person missing. There are widespread transportation disruptions, with nearly 500 domestic and international flights and 164 ship crossings scheduled for Wednesday canceled, according to authorities.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has activated routine typhoon alert preparation procedures at all its fabs and construction sites across the island, according to an emailed statement from the company, though it doesn’t expect a significant impact on operations due to the storm.
In the Philippines, where Krathon first started developing, the typhoon — known locally as Julian — had a less severe impact than storms seen earlier this year. One casualty has been reported so far, according to local media, and hundreds were evacuated due to flooding.
--With assistance from Cecilia Yap and Adrian Kennedy.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
