Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai told reporters there were still too many people on the streets.
“Looking at surveillance cameras we can see there are a lot of people out riding scooters under such strong wind and rain, which is really very dangerous,” he said.
“If you don’t have to, please avoid going out.”
Taipei university student Liao Shian-rong, 24, came to Kaohsiung with some classmates to chase the storm, bringing equipment like barometers and saying it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“We are being hit by the eyewall now and will enter the eye soon,” he said, filming the storm from a hotel lobby
Taiwan’s fire department reported two deaths as the approaching typhoon brought torrential rains across the island.
Both fatalities were on the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast – a man who fell while trimming a tree and another man whose vehicle was hit by a falling rock.
Parts of eastern Taiwan recorded rainfall of more than 1.6m, bringing rocks and mud cascading down onto roads.
The Southern Taiwan Science Park, home to one of chipmaker TSMC’s main factories, said operations were continuing as normal.
