Nearly 3,000 people in Taiwan have been evacuated due to the approaching Typhoon Haikui. It is expected to make landfall in the eastern part of Taiwan at 5 p.m. local time (11 a.m. Dutch time) on Sunday. It is the first tropical storm to directly hit the island in four years.
Taiwan’s interior ministry said authorities had evacuated more than 2,800 people in seven cities as a precautionary measure, most of them from the mountainous Hualien region. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, in a statement, urged people to stay home as much as possible and not go to the mountains or the coast.
“The waves on the coast are getting bigger slowly. Please don’t go to the beach to watch the waves or play in the water, let alone do dangerous activities,” Tsai said.
Flights have been cancelled
The sustained wind speed in Haikoi is about 140 kilometers per hour. The hurricane caused heavy rains in the area on Sunday morning. Schools and offices have been closed in the southern and eastern parts of Taiwan, and more than 200 domestic flights have been cancelled. The army has massed its soldiers and equipment around the island, which is expected to have the greatest impact on Haikoi.
The last major storm to hit Taiwan was Typhoon Pailu in 2019, which claimed one life. Haikui is expected to be less damaging than Typhoon Saola, which hit Hong Kong and southern China earlier this week. Dozens were injured there. Taiwan itself was not affected by Saola.
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