Taiwan: Nearly 3,000 evacuees in Taiwan before Typhoon Haikui arrives

Around 3,000 people have been evacuated from high-risk areas in eastern taiwan before the arrival of typhoon Haikui, the first tropical storm to target the island directly in four years.

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Haikui, which brought heavy rain on Sunday morning, is carrying sustained winds of 140 km per hour and is due to make landfall at Taitung in eastern China. taiwanat 17:00 (09:00 GMT).

Schools and offices in the south and east of the island remained closed on Sunday and more than 200 local flights were cancelled.

Haikui “will be the first typhoon in four years to make landfall in Taiwan,” Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Sunday.

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“I remind people to prepare for the typhoon and ensure their safety, avoiding going out or doing dangerous activities,” he added.

Just before 9:00 a.m., the storm was located 180 km east of Taiwan, the Central Meteorological Bureau said at a press conference.

“It has been strengthened since yesterday,” said the unit’s deputy director, Fong Chin-tzu.

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“It is expected to be a significant threat to most areas of taiwanwith winds, rains and waves”, he said.

He added that the storm should move west of the Taiwan Strait on Monday.

“We must take shelter from the powerful winds and heavy rains that the typhoon brings,” Fong warned.

The Ministry of the Interior indicated that the authorities evacuated as a precaution more than 2,800 people from seven cities in taiwanmostly from the mountainous Hualien County, bordering Taitung.

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The streets of Hualien were deserted on Sunday morning, hit by a torrential rain under dark skies.

The armed forces mobilized soldiers and equipment, such as amphibious vehicles and inflatable boats, in parts where Haikui is expected to have the most impact.

the last great storm to hit Taiwan was Typhoon Bailu, in 2019, which left one dead.

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Haikui is expected to be less severe than Saola, which caused the highest threat level in neighboring Hong Kong and southern China, before weakening on Saturday.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.