Taiwan braces as typhoon gets Taipei and China in its sights

TAIPEI/BEIJING: Taiwan issued a warning to ships and airlines cancelled some flights yesterday as the island braced for Typhoon Talim, expected to hit cities including the capital Taipei before hurtling towards China, potentially as a super typhoon.

Talim was expected to gain in strength as it sweeps towards Taiwan’s northern cities, lashing them with strong wind and heavy rain, the Central Weather Bureau said.

The brunt of the storm would be felt later today, when it was expected to slam into the north and north-east with maximum sustained wind speeds of 137km/h and gusts of up to 175km/h, the bureau said.

“Typhoon Talim has been changing course and is not entirely predictable. It was expected to hit Taiwan directly, but its trajectory has altered further northward and eastward,” said Premier William Lai. “At this point our emergency operation centre has not lowered its level of alert.”

It had not yet been decided whether the Taiwan government would close financial markets, companies and schools today.

China Airlines and EVA Airways, Taiwan’s two largest carriers, said they would cancel some international flights later yesterday.

In mainland China, more than 200 000 people in the Fujian and Zhejiang provinces have been evacuated. Talim could make landfall along Zhejiang’s northern coast tonight as a strong typhoon, packing gusts of up to 173km/h, the China Meteorological Administration said. The agency maintained an orange warning – the second-highest in a four-tier colour-coded system. – Reuters