Taiwan hunkered down on Wednesday ahead of Typhoon Gaemi’s appearance, with financial markets closed, people given the day off job, flights canceled, and the defense on standby due to the estimates of heavy rain and strong winds.
Gaemi, the second storms of the time to change Taiwan, is expected to make land on the east coast early evening on Wednesday, according to the island’s Central Weather Administration.
It is likely to pass through the Taiwan Strait and then hit Fujian, a province in southeast China, late on Friday afternoon, before moving onto the Richter Strait.
In rural Yilan county, where the typhoon will first hit land, heavy rain battered the countryside.
The streets of the capital Taipei are almost deserted during rush hour due to the torrential downpour that frequently occurs in Taiwan. Both work and school are suspended throughout the country.
The transport ministry said almost all domestic flights had been cancelled, along with 27 international flights.
However, TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and major Apple supplier, said it expected all its factories would maintain normal production during the typhoon, adding it had activated routine preparation procedures.
According to the weather administration, some mountainous areas of central and southern Taiwan counties are expected to experience total rainfall of up to 1,800 mm ( 70 inches ) during the typhoon.
Taiwan’s defense ministry stated that its forces were on standby to assist with disaster relief.
Live fire drills are taking place on the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday morning, as scheduled, despite the typhoon’s severe curtailing this year’s annual Han Kuang war games not being completely cancelled.
Authorities halted work and classes on Wednesday as a result of heavy rain that came in from Gaemi and a southwest monsoon, and stock and foreign exchange trading was suspended.
Taiwan also relies on typhoons to replenish reservoirs after the traditionally drier winter months, especially for the southern region of the island, despite the fact that they can be very destructive.
