Taiwan’s defence ministry said it had put more than 38,000 troops on standby, as Kaohsiung residents made their own preparations.
“It’s going to strike us directly. We must be fully prepared,” said fisherman Chen Ming-huang, as he tightened ropes on his boat in Kaohsiung harbour.
“In the worst-case scenario, the ropes might snap and my boat could drift away.”
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip maker and a major supplier to Apple and Nvidia and which has a large factory in neighbouring Tainan, said it had activated routine typhoon preparations and did not expect a significant impact to its operations.
SEARCH FOR SAILORS
Off the southeast coast, Taiwan rescue helicopters lifted to safety 13 out of 19 sailors from a listing cargo vessel travelling from China to Singapore, with efforts continuing to get to the remaining six, the government said.
The transport ministry said 88 domestic flights and 24 international ones had been cancelled, with boats to outlying islands also stopped. It added that all domestic flights – 234 in total – would stop on Wednesday.
The rail line connecting southern to eastern Taiwan was closed, though the north-south high-speed line was operating as normal, albeit with enhanced safety checks for wind and debris.
In Kaohsiung, most shops and restaurants pulled down their doors and shutters, and traditional wet markets shut with streets mostly deserted.
At a building in Siaogang district, home to the city’s airport, residents practiced how to rapidly set up metal barriers to stop water flooding into the underground parking lot.
“We will have only a few minutes to react if the flooding is coming,” said Chiu Yun-ping, deputy head of the building’s residents’ committee.
Chen Mei-ling, who lives near the harbour, said in past typhoons high tides reached just a few metres (feet) from her house’s main door and she had made preparations.
“We’ve got torches and emergency food supplies,” Chen said. “It’s a strong typhoon and we are worried.”
