Taiwan shuts schools and offices ahead a direct hit from powerful typhoon

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan -- Taiwan closed schools and offices and evacuated hundreds from vulnerable areas around the island Tuesday ahead of a strong typhoon expected to hit its densely populated western coast after lashing northern Philippine islands.

Dozens of flights were canceled, and more than 500 people were moved from mountainous regions prone to landslides. Nearly 40,000 troops were mobilized to help with rescue efforts, according to the Defense Ministry.

Typhoon Krathon is expected to hit the major port city of Kaohsiung in the island’s southwest on Wednesday morning then move across the center of Taiwan and northeast toward the East China Sea, according to the Central Weather Administration. It is expected to be felt in the capital Taipei on Wednesday and Thursday.

The mayor of Kaohsiung, a city of 2.7 million people, asked residents to stay indoors unless necessary and to avoid flooding- and landslide-prone areas near rivers, the seaside and the mountains. Up to 80 centimeters (31 inches) of rain was forecast in surrounding mountainous areas.

Mayor Chen Chi-mai said Krathon will be “no less powerful” than 1977’s Typhoon Thelma, which devastated the city, leaving 37 dead and 298 injured.

The typhoon was moving slowly toward the island with maximum sustained winds of 198 kph (123 mph) and gusts of 245 kph (152 mph), according to the weather administration.

Taiwan's coast guard worked for several hours to rescue 19 sailors who had abandoned a cargo ship about 60 miles southeast of the eastern coastal city of Taitung. Crew members aboard Blue Lagoon were forced to abandon the vessel early Tuesday as it took on water in its engine room, the coast guard said.

A rescue helicopter went out three times to lift the sailors in groups of six or seven at a time. Another helicopter had to turn back at one point due to the wind and rain.

In the northern Philippines, the typhoon left at least one villager dead, displaced about 5,000 people, damaged more than 2,400 houses and set off widespread flooding, officials said.

Fierce wind damaged the airport terminal and two parked light planes in Basco, the capital town of the hard-hit province of Batanes. An airstrip and a hangar were also flooded in Lingayen town in Pangasinan province, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

A resident died of electrocution when he was hit on Monday by an electric cable downed by fierce wind while riding a motorcycle in the coastal town of Santa Ana in northern Cagayan province, officials said.

Typhoons rarely hit Taiwan’s densely populated west coast, affecting instead the mountainous, eastern side of the island. In July, Typhoon Gaemi caused landslides and flooding, leaving at least 11 people dead.

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Associated Press journalist Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.