Violent tropical storm
“Winds like an earthquake”: Super typhoon Krathon rages in Asia
Tropical Storm “Krathon” is now classified as a super typhoon
© Aaron Favila / AP / DPA
After tropical storm “Yagi”, super typhoon “Krathon” is now raging in the Philippines. He has left a trail of destruction behind him – and is on his way to Taiwan.
There are renewed alarms in parts of Asia about a violent… Tropical storm: “Krathon” has now reached the status of a super typhoon and is sweeping over the South China Sea with wind speeds of 185 kilometers per hour, the Philippine weather service Pagasa announced this morning. The gusts even reached top speeds of 230 km/h.
“There is a medium to high risk of life-threatening storm surge over low-lying or exposed coastal locations in the Batanes and Babuyan Islands over the next 48 hours,” the agency warned. The affected region is in the north of the Southeast Asian island nation.
Landslides and flash floods caused by tropical storm
Since the beginning of the week, various places in the north of the country have reported severe flooding. Photos showed people wading through waist-high water. Local authorities reported landslides and flash floods. Roofs were covered and trees were uprooted. In northern parts of the most populous island of Luzon, where the capital Manila is located, many schools remained closed.
“The winds are so strong that it feels like an earthquake,” Batanes Governor Marilou Cayco said in a television interview. Many citizens were accommodated in evacuation centers.
Krathon, known as Julian in the Philippines, is forecast to make landfall on the southwest coast of Taiwan on Wednesday. According to the Taiwan Meteorological Agency, the tropical storm is expected to continue to gain strength. Warnings for strong winds and heavy rain were in effect for Pingtung and Taitung counties as well as the city of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan. In the east and south of the island republic, offices and schools remained closed due to the approaching storm.
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94 international and national flights as well as more than 140 shipping connections on 16 routes were also canceled. President Lai Ching-te called for residents in disaster-prone areas to be evacuated during daylight hours for their safety during a visit to the disaster management center.
In recent months, several massive storms have claimed lives and caused severe devastation in parts of Asia, most notably “Gaemi” in July and “Yagi” in September. The Philippines is hit by an average of around 20 typhoons every year. The worst storm to date, “Haiyan,” killed more than 6,300 people in November 2013.